In the spiritual environment today you can hear a lot about enlightenment, nirvana, awareness and other concepts, which most often either have a very abstract idea, or people understand them somehow in their own way. And it is also often said that pride is the most severe test on the spiritual path.
You can overcome everything: bad habits, worldly attachments, anger, delusions, resentment, jealousy, melancholy, sadness, depression, but just before the very top of the mountain a person is overtaken by the most terrible and dangerous enemy - pride. It suddenly seems to him that he has overcome so much, gone through so many trials, and now he is better than many, now he can look at others condescendingly, or even with disdain.
And at first everything is fine - dizziness from success creates the illusion that a person is actually developing and has generally soared very high - now only the stars are higher. But, however, it’s already close to them. But then a person begins to notice that a kind of emptiness is forming around him, as in outer space: people want to communicate with him less and less, friends and acquaintances gradually disappear somewhere from his life, and relationships even with those closest to him every day are becoming more and more tense.
And one fine day a person notices that he may have already reached some of his own stars, but, as it should be in outer space, there is cold, lifeless empty space around him. Is the price of success too high? Why is this happening? How to maintain balance? What is simplicity in a person, and where does it border on naivety and softness?
The meaning of the word "simple"
Modern terminology includes many interpretations of the concept “simple”, since it is important to understand what object this word is associated with and in what context it is used. If we are talking about a subject, then when applied to it, the concept “simple” means elementary, not complex in nature, ordinary. If we talk about an empirical substance, for example, a simple truth, a simple solution, then it must be interpreted as something devoid of difficulties, accessible to understanding, unpretentious, unpretentious and uncomplicated. In a word, the concept of simplicity implies something that does not require effort, which is characterized by ease, accessibility, freedom of action and application. But if we are talking about a person, what is simple?
Simplicity and austerity
So, what is human simplicity? The essence of simplicity can probably be expressed in two concepts - asceticism and altruism. Jesus spoke about the first concept in his Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves They don’t break into or steal. For where your treasures are, there will your heart be also.”
Regarding altruism, Jesus also mentioned this: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Again, common sense must be exercised in both principles. “Do not collect treasures on earth” does not mean living in a cave, eating roots and leaves, these are extremes, and as the Buddha bequeathed, extremes should be avoided. He already knew what he was saying; with severe austerities he almost brought himself to death, if not for the noble girl Sujata, who fed the ascetic dying of hunger.
And the call to give to everyone who asks should not be taken literally either. Sometimes you need to give to someone who is not asking, and pass by the one who is asking. Because the best alms are knowledge. You can do your child’s homework by solving all the problems. He'll get an A, and everyone will seem happy. But the problem will not be solved, the child did not understand the principle of solving problems, and will not understand, and he will have to constantly do homework for him, and this is more evil than good, because it deprives a person of the opportunity to develop.
Therefore, the words of Jesus should be interpreted rationally - everyone should be given exactly what they need at every moment of time. For some - knowledge, for others - food, for others - a roof over their heads. But it is important to understand that feeding the hungry without explaining to him the reasons why he became needy is a dubious good.
What is the definition of a common man?
A person is determined by a huge number of qualities, characteristics, characteristics of the psychotype, and type of temperament. It can be assessed from various positions and aspects in terms of emotional and psychological state. But what is the meaning of the common man? What does this concept mean when applied to a rational being?
A simple person is a representative of humanity, an isolated unit of society, who goes through life with an easy and relaxed attitude to the course of events developing around him, and builds his life in simplicity and spontaneity, without using complex techniques in communication. A simple person is characterized by his abstract attitude to the world; he is straightforward and simple-minded. Carrying out communication activities with the world around him, he does not set as a goal the establishment of contact between himself and the intended interlocutor, he does not set the goals of influence in communication, does not use complex conversation settings in a manner beneficial to himself, and does not select wording and intonation. Such a person simply says what is in his thoughts and soul directly, without unnecessary tricks or analogies.
The lexical meaning of the words “simple” and “man”, when understood as a collective phrase, also presupposes the simplicity of a representative of humanity not only in communications, but also in actions, deeds and life in general. When communicating with people, such an individual starts from the principle “because” and not “in order to”, as do human communicators and human manipulators. His entire worldview is built on simple truths and simple actions, without any attempt to influence anyone or anything in this way.
Keep it simple and people will follow
You can often hear such words addressed to some arrogant person who thinks too much of himself. And it’s hard to disagree with this. Pride has mowed down many on the path of spiritual development. This is such a vile and insidious enemy, he creeps up quietly and unnoticed, his poisoned dagger strikes without pain, but the poison with which the blade is smeared slowly but surely poisons us, creating an illusion that deprives us of an objective view of reality.
Whoever God wants to destroy, he deprives of reason. Of course, this should be understood as a metaphor - God never wants to destroy anyone, he only sends us trials. In the history of many rulers one can often find such treachery - when close subjects wanted to destroy the ruler, they began to flatter him.
Methodically instilling in a person that he is great, unique and generally shines brighter than the sun and moon combined. And most often the ruler was overtaken by pride, which made him a cruel, cynical and unjust ruler.
And on the contrary, the rulers who were “closer to the people” understood their aspirations and problems and were always the people’s favorites. What is simplicity? Why is this quality so important? How to avoid extremes?
One can recall such a wonderful military leader as Alexander Suvorov. Despite his talent, fame and fame, he was always content with the same conditions as his soldiers - he slept in the open air on campaigns, ate the same food with them and easily communicated with them as equals. And in many ways, this is what contributed to his unquestioned authority and the unconditional trust that his soldiers bestowed.
And largely thanks to this, his campaigns were always successful - the soldiers trusted a man who could easily sit down with them at the same fire, eat porridge from the same pot and talk with them about the topics that concern them.
Simplicity means, first of all, not elevating yourself and not putting others down. Yes, not all people are perfect, not everyone is destined to be “conscious” and “enlightened,” but judging someone for not being enlightened enough is the same as judging a first-grader for not knowing chemistry or physics and trigonometry.
And we were all once at the beginning of the journey. It is important to remember this even when we become a Buddha, and in Buddhism they say that everyone has this opportunity, and even moreover, it is inevitable for all of us.
One interesting Buddhist text, The Lotus Flower Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma, tells of a bodhisattva who, whenever he met anyone, invariably repeated: “I cannot treat you with contempt, because you will all become Buddhas.” For this he was nicknamed Bodhisattva Never Despising. Isn't this a wonderful example of how we treat the people around us?
It doesn’t matter what religion we profess and what we believe in, it is important to understand that we are all, one way or another, moving towards perfection, and each of us will sooner or later find ourselves at the top of the Mountain. And to look down on those who are still at the beginning of their journey is, to say the least, unreasonable.
So, a simple person is one who does not put himself above others, no matter what success he has achieved on his path, what level of skill has been revealed to him in this or that matter - he still treats all people with respect.
Keeping it simple: pros
Is being a simple person good or bad? In order to understand this, you need to find out all the positive and negative aspects of this concept applicable to the individual.
A simple person is good because he:
- easy to communicate - his unpretentious, undemanding, moderate and unpretentious attitude towards everything around him endears his interlocutor to him;
- never argues - he has no goal of proving anything to anyone, especially if the question does not concern his department or competence, since he does not see the need for this due to the simplicity of his character;
- conflict-free - this trait of his character stems from the absence of the need to argue with people;
- modest - this type of personality never puts itself on display and does not strive to please everyone;
- frank and sincere - incapable of deception, weaving intrigues and perjury.
Being simple: cons
However, for all its positivity, the definition of a common person is a rather ambiguous concept. In addition to the advantages, it also has a number of not very attractive qualities, namely:
- vulnerability - the innocence and kindness inherent in the characteristic spontaneity of a simple person entail his gullibility and falling “on the hook” of crooks, insidious and treacherous liars;
- partial crudeness and undiplomaticity - a simple person will not be sophisticated in building a constructive dialogue and selecting the right words to express his thoughts;
- lack of ambition - a person with a simple character does not strive to be better, to come to the forefront of honor, to achieve the heights of Olympus;
- gullibility is a dual quality, which is often expressed in the fact that an ordinary person is often left in the “fool” of being deceived.
How he speaks about other people
If you want to get to know a person, don't listen to what others say about him. Better listen to what he says about others.
Woody Allen, American film director, writer, jazz musician, actor and playwright
One way or another, everyone gossips. After all, the main way of transmitting data for centuries was just that - word of mouth. But people can tell different information and present it in different ways too.
Someone is fair in their judgments, sticks to the facts, minimizes speculation, and does not tell other people’s secrets. Well, some people exclusively delve into dirty laundry and retell nasty things, including fictitious ones.
Accordingly, if you hear only abominations about others from a person’s mouth, be careful. It is unlikely that he will make an exception for you: if only toads fly out of his mouth, they will not turn into roses.
Simplicity as a personality quality
And yet, what can be said about simplicity as a quality of personality? The theme of the common man touches on a list of his personal qualities in terms of how society perceives him:
- patience - he never goes against fate, but only patiently waits for happiness to visit him, and accepts his fate and his life as a given, considering this the highest measure of happiness;
- benevolence - the simpler a person is, the kinder he is, the less his thoughts are tainted by the harmful influence of the current callous society;
- purity of conscience - such a person is devoid of selfishness, duplicity, envy, pride and arrogance;
- a share of ignorance - excessive ease and ease in communication predetermines an overly simple person as an insufficiently intellectually developed, stupid representative of society.
Two opinions are known - it's time to look for the truth!
The truth may be:
a) the way of negotiations: today we’ll go to a cafe, tomorrow we’ll relax at home (or vice versa),
b) in the way of sacrifice: you are so important to me (important) that I will give in,
c) a way of compromise: let's go to a cafe, but it will be cheaper, we will relax at home, but we will dance to the music and cook the pizza ourselves.
Which method do you most often choose? Write about it in the comments!
So, if both positions are expressed directly and clearly, all needs are clear, then an agreement can be reached.
And if at least one position is expressed indirectly (“you know, I really like that place...”, “we don’t go anywhere...”, “I’ve always loved motorcycle racing...”), then communication and mutual exchange most often fail.
The result is either a merger (“WE love this”, “WE will go there”, “WE will do a project”), or a blind defense - one is confident in “WE”, the second closes down and hopes that somehow it will get through .
Or both are silent, like Marshak:
The old man says to the old woman: “Old woman, close the door!” “I just have to close the door, there’s nothing else to do.” For me, let it remain open for a hundred years!
Is simple a compliment or vice versa?
It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of whether it is pleasant to be called a simple person or not so much. After all, on the one hand, this is how they position a person who is conflict-free, pleasant to communicate with, and incapable of causing harm, with whom it is comfortable to be in the same environment. But, on the other hand, the label of a simpleton does not allow one to achieve those heights in life that are open to ambitious, sometimes arrogant and arrogant individuals who go forward towards their goals by manipulating the consciousness of others, which a simple person is completely incapable of.
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The duality of the concept of “simple” in society
Is being a simple person good or bad? This question is repeated again and considered from different perspectives. But assessing the objectivity of the above pros and cons of a good-natured simpleton, we can conclude that it is better to be a modest person with a clear conscience than a successful careerist with a reputation as a notorious scoundrel.
How does he feel about other people's success?
In one famous joke, a man found a genie who promised to give him whatever he asked for, but on the condition that his neighbor would receive twice as much. As a result, the man asks the genie to make his neighbor one-eyed.
This anecdote quite accurately describes the type of people who are painfully aware of other people’s achievements, even if they themselves are quite successful. They slander, look for flaws, devalue. For example, they go through comments on social networks and media and write how terrible Angelina Jolie is and how unsuccessful Pavel Durov is.
It is clear that this is more of a defensive reaction and an attempt to cope with a bunch of experiences, including envy and dissatisfaction with oneself. But one day you too may get caught.
What kind of person is he - a person with the character of a simpleton?
Being a simple person is not so easy. Is it possible not to react to the anger of the world around us? Is it easy to be helpful, carefree, patient in today's brutalized society? Isn't it difficult to be humble during global cataclysms and crises? It may be hard to believe, but a simple person is incredibly strong. He is strong in spirit because he lets through his thoughts the negativity of the current arrogant public. He is strong in self-control because he does not provoke modern ambitions. He is strong in his kindness, because in a world of cruelty and topicality he shines as a bright ray of warmth, honesty, openness and sincerity.
