Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it. ~Robert Brault
The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn’t simple. ~Doris Janzen Longacre
The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go. ~Steve Maraboli
To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs
The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed — it is a process of elimination. ~Elbert Hubbard
The goal of life: simple but not empty. ~Terri Guillemets
Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~Lao Tzu
Simplify, then add lightness. ~Colin Chapman
Life is amazingly good when it’s simple and amazingly simple when it’s good. ~Terri Guillemets
Since all the riches of this world
May be gifts from the Devil and earthly kings,
I should suspect that I worshipp’d the Devil
If I thank’d my God for worldly things.
~William Blake, Gnomic Verses
What a unique treasure are the things we have learned to live without, for no thief can take them from us. ~Robert Brault
You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need. ~Vernon Howard
In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. ~Henry David Thoreau
Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion. ~The Talmud
All goes back to the earth,
and so I do not desire
pride of excess or power,
but the contentments made
by men who have had little:
the fisherman’s silence
receiving the river’s grace,
the gardener’s musing on rows....
~Wendell Berry, "The Want of Peace"
The waste of life occasioned by trying to do too many things at once is appalling. ~Orison Marden
People overestimate the pleasure they’ll get from having more stuff. This does not apply to new rose bushes, crayons, or yarn stashes. ~Dr. SunWolf
More good has been accomplished by simple people seeking their own honest ends than by all the philanthropists in history. ~Robert Brault
How many things are there which I do not want. ~Socrates
Our affluent society contains those of talent and insight who are driven to prefer poverty, to choose it, rather than submit to the desolation of an empty abundance. ~Michael Harrington
Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. - Guillaume Apollinaire
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~William Morris
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo da Vinci
I like to walk about among the beautiful things that adorn the world; but private wealth I should decline, or any sort of personal possessions, because they would take away my liberty. ~George Santayana
"The little things ? The little moments ? They aren't little."
- John Zabat-Zinn
"People say "I want peace." If you remove I (ego), and your want (desire), you are left with peace."
- Satya Sai Baba
With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy.
- Lope de Vega
Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires."
- Lao-Tzu
Each day, awakening, are we asked to paint the sky blue? Need we coax the sun to rise or flowers to bloom? Need we teach birds to sing, or children to laugh, or lovers to kiss? No, though we think the world imperfect, it surrounds us each day with its perfections. We are asked only to appreciate them, and to show appreciation by living in peaceful harmony amidst them. The Creator does not ask that we create a perfect world; He asks that we celebrate it. ~Robert Brault
Images by Tatyaro
