The accompanying photo brings to mind an incident that happened years ago when my beloved and I were first married. My mother-in-law, a gifted seamstress in her own right, told me in her no-nonsense tone of voice that I could make window coverings out of nice, inexpensive bed sheets. After all, she had done the same with her own home and they looked quite nice. Given our limited resources, that made a whole lot of sense to me.

After numerous pokes and prods that “you can do it—you’re smart and it’s really simple”, we decided to scrape together our nickels to purchase a basic sewing machine for said effort. Filled with enthusiasm and hope, I plunged into the piles of fabric. And you likely know where this is going. Those lovely sale-priced sheets never made it to the windows. Instead, they ended up on our bed, which is where I thought they belonged in the first place.

Fact of the matter is, what she saw as a simple and easy task was far from so for me. Once she realized I was lost amid the needles, measuring tape, and clatter of the machine foot pedal, she quickly accepted that sewing was not my thing, as much as I tried and wanted to make it happen.

The aforementioned situation has nothing to do with being smart or not, as do a raft of endeavors one might be tempted to describe as “simple and easy.” The problem is that each of us have uniquely wired brains that allow us to pursue a variety of activities. Which is not to say we can’t learn how to do something we’ve never attempted before, only that we may make a valiant attempt, do our best, and still not achieve the desired results.

When simple does not mean easy applies in numerous situations. A few examples:

  • It’s simple to run in a marathon—not easy to go from Point A to Point B for 26 miles, even for the trained athlete.
  • It’s simple to bake a cake—not easy if you don’t have the tools and ingredients you need.
  • It’s simple to wrap a Christmas gift—not easy if you don’t have the money to buy one in the first place.
  • It’s simple to follow the doctor’s orders if you need medical attention—not easy if you don’t have access to the facilities, professionals, or treatments to help you get well.

As with many life experiences, there are lessons to be learned if we are open to them. One of the things the great sheet-defeat brought to light was how quickly we can jump to conclusions about what we think is simple or easy, totally unaware it’s probably not a good idea to assume that because we find certain tasks to be simple and easy the same applies to everyone else.

My sense is we do the greatest harm with the “simple and easy” attitude when we toss it about with children and young people. At a time when most are struggling to be successful in school or in extra-curricular activities, it’s important to help them be brave, try new ideas, and learn how to fail successfully as they discover their unique gifts and talents. And in the process, enjoy and appreciate what is simple and easy for themselves, as well as for others.

Do I tend to associate simple with easy? Why?

Do I feel defeated if what I think ought to be simple and easy isn’t’?