Quotes About Simplicity

So, now I've become such a big schoolmaster that my name is even mentioned in the newspapers. But I have remained a simple fellow who asks nothing of the world—only my youth is gone, the enchanting youth that walks forever on air.

Complexity of thought is no measure of originality.

If a person measures his spiritual fulfillment in terms of cosmic visions, surpassing peace of mind, or ecstasy, then he is not likely to know much spiritual fulfillment. If, however, he measures it in terms of enjoying a sunrise, being warmed by a child's smile, or being able to help someone have a better day, then he is likely to know much spiritual fulfillment.

Willy: Remember those two beautiful elm trees out there? When I and Biff hung the swings between them? Linda: Yeah, like being a million miles from the city.

The child is much nearer the vision of the self. We must become as little children before we can enter into the realm of truth. This is why we are required to put aside the sophistication of the learned. The need for being born again is insisted on. It is said that the wisdom of babes is greater than that of scholars. Sri

Truth is most beautiful undraped.

Truth that is naked is the most beautiful.

Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes.

If you want to reach a large audience, appeal to idiots.

Simplicity has always been looked upon as a token, not only of truth, but also of genius. Style receives its beauty from the thought expressed, while with those writers who only pretend to think it is their thoughts that are said to be fine because of their style. Style is merely the silhouette of thought; and to write in a vague or bad style means a stupid or confused mind.

It would be of general service to German authors if they discerned that while a man should, if possible, think like a great mind, he should speak the same language as every other person. Men should use common words to say uncommon things.

The Buddha, Eckhart and I all teach essentially the same, Eckhart within the bounds of his Christian mythology. In Buddhism, these ideas are not encumbered by any such mythology, and are thus simple and clear, to the extent that a religion can be clear. Complete clarity lies with me.

Humbling was a nice word, Rahel thought. Humbling along without a care in the world.

Ammu wondered at the transparency of that kiss. It was a clear-as-glass kiss. Unclouded by passion or desire . . . . It was a kiss that demanded no kiss-back. Not a cloudy kiss full of questions that wanted answers.

And so, in these ways, in order to please Zainab, Anjum began to rewrite a simpler, happier life for herself. The rewriting in turn began to make Anjum a simpler, happier person.

It celebrated (but never preached) the virtue of spirituality over sacrament, simplicity over opulence and stubborn, ecstatic love even when faced with the prospect of annihilation.

The Mouse absorbed love like sand absorbs the sea.

Poetry can be tedious. Too many words to say a simple thing.

But as your horizons contract—when you see the future ahead of you as finite and uncertain—your focus shifts to the here and now, to everyday pleasures and the people closest to you.

Instead they choose to accept their fallibilities. They recognised the simplicity and power of using a checklist.

We are besieged by simple problems.... Checklists can provide protection

Thinking about averting plane crashes in 1935, or stopping infections of central lines in 2003, or rescuing drowning victims today, I realized that the key problem in each instance was essentially a simple one, despite the number of contributing factors.

And there is such a strategy—though it will seem almost ridiculous in its simplicity, maybe even crazy to those of us who have spent years carefully developing ever more advanced skills and technologies. It is a checklist.

So you want to keep the list short by focusing on what he called "the killer items" — the steps that are most dangerous to skip and sometimes overlooked nonetheless. The wording should be simple and exact, Boorman went on, and use the familiar language of the profession. Even the look of the checklist matters. Ideally, it should fit on one page. It should be free of clutter and unnecessary colors.