The more actions we take or contemplate, the more complex our lives. The flip side is that the fewer nouns we live with, the simpler our lives. So, to exert more control during your tomorrows, lower your noun count. It works. One of the three major forms of nouns that can be lowered is places; the other two are persons and things.

Places, which we own, rent, or visit, can clutter our lives and make them more complicated than they would otherwise be. By definition, getting from place to place involves travel that requires time, energy, and at least a little money with fuel prices the way they are. So the travel associated with places is a complexity booster, too. Places and travel go hand in hand.

We own, rent, or visit places other than home for at least three legitimate reasons. One is to enrich our lives. “I am going to Timbuktu to see what it is like.” The validity of going to other places for this reason is slowly declining as they become more like home each year. Americana is increasingly global. In addition we can “visit” almost anywhere these days without leaving our starting point. Media resources about other places are plentiful. In a number of respects (not all), such secondary resources are superior to the on-site experience.

For mountain folks, going to Timbuktu has one other drawback besides the added complexity of the round trip. We might miss something Here while we are There! Henry David Thoreau put the matter in perspective in 1856:

“When it is proposed to me to go abroad, rub off some rust, and better my condition in a worldly sense, I fear that my life will lose some of its homeliness. If these fields and streams and woods, the phenomena of nature here, and the simple occupations of the inhabitants should cease to interest and inspire me, no culture or wealth would atone for the loss. I fear the dissipation that traveling—going into society and the enjoyment of intellectual luxuries—implies.”

A second reason we own, rent, or visit other places is that doing so elevates us in the consumption hierarchy. We go to demonstrate to others we have the funds and stamina to do so. These days travel has a great deal of panache. It can be a way of showing off: “I’m going to….” Or “I’ve just returned from….” And farther is always more glitzy than closer.

Consumption is the religion of our times, and admonitions to join in are preached every moment of every day from the pulpits of television, the Internet, radio, newspapers, magazines, and billboards. The message is insidious and the clergy is a vast army of spokespersons for businesses and government. We consumers are their congregations. Saving is not on the agenda. The continuing sermon is to buy or do something—anything! To not partake at some level is un-religious.

When we go to, or return from, somewhere, Paris or Phoenix, we chant the place mantra as instructed and assert that we, therefore, deserve seats in the forward pews. The fact is that we sometimes—perhaps unconsciously—travel for travel’s sake. And as we do, we inch along the path pointing toward existence as human doings. This path runs uphill and the increasing weight we feel is complexity tugging on us. Gravity.

The third common reason we go to other places is to visit people. We will explore the simplification subject of reducing our noun count of people at another time, in Simplicity 104.

In summary, places are one of the three major forms of nouns. The more nouns we have in our lives, the more responsibilities we have. The more responsibilities we have, the more complex our lives. To increase simplicity, we reduce our noun count. It’s a straightforward proposition.

A final thought. Simplifying life does not automatically equate to becoming a hermit, reclusive and withdrawn from society. Many of us have at least one other place in the world besides home that is important to us. Properly done, travel to another place can be a catalyst for continuing discovery. T.S. Eliot said it this way:

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

Our challenge is to balance the call to simplify against our urge to go. Perspective and discipline are required to keep places in their place.

For those readers with a mathematical bent, here is the basic, underlying formula:

Noun Count x Simplicity Factor = 1000

Our Noun Count multiplied times our individual Simplicity Factor always equals One Thousand.

If you or I have a Noun Count of 100, then our Simplicity Factor is 10. 100 x 10 equals 1000.

If you or I must deal regularly with ten times more nouns, then our Noun Count is 1,000 and our Simplicity Factor plunges to 1. 1,000 x 1 equals 1,000.

In short, the more nouns we have, the lower our Simplicity Factor. The lower the Factor, the more complex our lives. If we lower our Noun Count our Simplicity Factor goes up. A higher number (Factor) indicates a simpler life. Give it a try.


Copyright (c) 2009 by Steven C. Brandt