I've been living in Mozambique a little over a week now. It's been an amazing experience to embrace the culture and learn from it.
From what I have observed thus far, I think simplicity permeates their lives here. I love it because they learn to be content and make do with so little. For example, instead of having a kitchen full of different utensils to cook with, Mozambicans use very few tools to make delicious and fresh meals. The people fill their spare time with dancing and singing and just being together. They don't need sound systems and decorations to have a good time. Children play with sand and leaves and items that others may consider trash. Closets have about ten outfits each.
Being here has reminded me that having the newest gadgets and a beautiful home is nice, but not needed. Sometimes in America we may believe that we need new and nice things when maybe we should just focus on the people God has put in our lives. We also may believe that filling all our time with things to do is what is expected when in reality, sometimes just being with family doing nothing is enough.
There is beauty in simplicity. Simply being. Simply doing. Simply loving.
Of course there is a time and place for complexity. God is both simple and complex. But in America, we need to be reminded to strive for more simplicity in our lives, and that is what I am being shown here in Mozambique. In America, we do a lot of things we think need to be done but in reality, these things could be easily bypassed. When we overcomplicate our lives, it can create exhaustion, stress, and a sense of failure, because we are not capable of doing and being everything we think is expected.
In Mozambique, one whole day could be dedicated to making the evening meal. To Americans, this may seem a waste of precious time. We may even come in and convince Mozambicans to make the task more efficient so they can accomplish more with their day. However, from personal experience, I have found that hard work, even for just one task in a day, produces great joy and a sense of accomplishment, no matter what the task or how big a deal it may seem.
I would advocate not for everyone to completely devoid life of complexity, but maybe if we expected less from our days and our lives, we would be more joyful. Simply being content with little and not needing to always be doing something will allow us to rest in God and take a step back from the busyness.
God made beautiful things and tasks for us to enjoy, but we must remember that living simply can be enough.
From what I have observed thus far, I think simplicity permeates their lives here. I love it because they learn to be content and make do with so little. For example, instead of having a kitchen full of different utensils to cook with, Mozambicans use very few tools to make delicious and fresh meals. The people fill their spare time with dancing and singing and just being together. They don't need sound systems and decorations to have a good time. Children play with sand and leaves and items that others may consider trash. Closets have about ten outfits each.
Being here has reminded me that having the newest gadgets and a beautiful home is nice, but not needed. Sometimes in America we may believe that we need new and nice things when maybe we should just focus on the people God has put in our lives. We also may believe that filling all our time with things to do is what is expected when in reality, sometimes just being with family doing nothing is enough.
There is beauty in simplicity. Simply being. Simply doing. Simply loving.
Of course there is a time and place for complexity. God is both simple and complex. But in America, we need to be reminded to strive for more simplicity in our lives, and that is what I am being shown here in Mozambique. In America, we do a lot of things we think need to be done but in reality, these things could be easily bypassed. When we overcomplicate our lives, it can create exhaustion, stress, and a sense of failure, because we are not capable of doing and being everything we think is expected.
In Mozambique, one whole day could be dedicated to making the evening meal. To Americans, this may seem a waste of precious time. We may even come in and convince Mozambicans to make the task more efficient so they can accomplish more with their day. However, from personal experience, I have found that hard work, even for just one task in a day, produces great joy and a sense of accomplishment, no matter what the task or how big a deal it may seem.
I would advocate not for everyone to completely devoid life of complexity, but maybe if we expected less from our days and our lives, we would be more joyful. Simply being content with little and not needing to always be doing something will allow us to rest in God and take a step back from the busyness.
God made beautiful things and tasks for us to enjoy, but we must remember that living simply can be enough.
