Life itself is anything but simple. Even unicellular organisms rely on complex physiologic processes to sustain life and, the more complex the organism, the more complex the chemistry and structure of life.
Indeed, those of us who pursue careers in the life sciences understand this complexity and know that even minor defects (e.g. genetic mutations) can disrupt, if not destroy, cellular function; depending on the nature of the defect, serious illness or death may result. Life is fragile, as we too often observe.
Yet, as intelligent organisms, we come to understand that the joys of life are relatively simple, at least compared to the complex physiology that keeps us alive. Our sense of wellbeing requires only that our basic survival needs are met and that we experience love, friendship and personal satisfaction. These life requirements may be mediated by a vast network of physiologic and neuropsychiatric processes but, from our conscious perspective, simplicity is often the key to happiness.
