simplicity and complexity

I was going to sit down and write about how I was feeling down, and get into some real "woe is me" sort of stuff, but then something clicked. I don't have to feel that way. So instead, I've decided to summarize a conversation I had with a good friend today. *Ahem*

This afternoon, I was posed with that most impertinent of questions, "What is the meaning of life?" Most times, in an attempt to be witty, I would hurl one of my flippant and obvious answers back at this sort of inquiry. And so, with a response on the tip of my (somewhat forked?) tongue, I opened my mouth to reply. And then hesitated. Realizing I had no clever response that I hadn't already said at least 15 times prior, well, wittiness turns to dust on your lips when you find yourself repeating... yourself. Hmm.
This made me stop for a moment then and truly consider my words. With my mouth hanging wide open, I knew I had better say something.
"Complexity."
I paused. Another brief moment of reflection, then- "Life's purpose is the struggle toward complexity."
"Don't you mean simplicity?" she asked. We've both studied philosophy to varying degrees, and at the core, simplifying, letting go, non-resistance -- these concepts are the chewy center of any number of doctrines.
"No," I replied, warming to the thought. "Hear me out."
"Life begins with single-celled organisms who flail around in the ooze, eating, dividing in half, dying, and so on. Then each begins to specialize, focusing on particular tasks, improving in a multitude of different ways. Then they begin combining. Becoming more efficient by pairing up, by utilizing complementary traits, by assuming separate roles within a single organism. Cells become tissues, tissues become organs, ever more complex, creating more adapted and adaptable creatures."
"Then consider the portion we're most familiar with -- Humanity. Our civilization has become more complex with each iteration. We're asked to deal with a greater amount of information and stimulus today than any species on this planet ever has. Your parents could deal with more complexity than theirs, you, in turn can handle more than them. Your progeny will likely find you to be slow and inflexible -- maybe in more ways than one."
"Hey! Keep the jibes to yourself!" she laughed, swatting at me playfully. "But what about consciousness and enlightenment? Doesn't letting go and just existing imply simplicity?"
"In a sense, but it's only simpler from our own perspective. Enlightenment has more to do with not making things more complex than they actually are. Malcom Gladwell talks about a lot of this in Blink -- our ability to make rapid and accurate judgements in the present without seemingly considering the complexity of the problem is actually a function of our being so well adapted to dealing with complexity. Enlightenment is just as much trusting in your own ability -- which has evolved over millions of years -- to understand the complexity around you and not let your mind get in your own way."
She started chuckling, "You wouldn't know anything about that, right?"
I rolled my eyes, "Me, nah. My mind is like a steel trap. Unfortunately I already stepped in it."
"I wonder..." she hummed, pursing her lips. "If life is a race to complexity, where are we headed from here?"
I shrugged. "I keep going back to the single-celled organisms. Cells, pairs, tissues, organs... Combining to become something greater than the sum of its parts. Who knows? Maybe we're evolving into the body parts of God."
She smiled up at me, eyes flashing radiantly, "I bet we become the spleen."

with thanks to Richard Dawkins