Quotes About Simplicity

The Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger (tutor to Nero) complained that his peers were wasting time and money accumulating too many books, admonishing that "the abundance of books is a distraction." Instead, Seneca recommended focusing on a limited number of good books, to be read thoroughly and repeatedly.

If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do.

Strauss again brought up my need to speak and wrtie simply and directly so that people will understand me. He reminds me that language is sometimes a barrier instead of a pathway. Ironic to find myself on the other side of the intellectual fence.

I've got to realize that when they continually admonish me to speak and write simply so that people who read these reports will be able to understand me, they are talking about themselves as well. But still it's frightening to realize that my fate is in the hands of men who are not the giants I once thought them to be, men who don't know all the answers.

You will discover that if you can find such pleasure in presence, then your joy no longer depends on exceptional circumstances waited for in a state of neurotic tension but on simple reality, as it presents itself to you from moment to moment.

you will discover that true presence brings you pleasure incommensurate with events. The most banal thing—a cup of tea, a few steps, opening a door, a glance at the sky—can be enough to make you happy during the time you are present and well after.

by the slow and gentle emergence of objectless love, which calmly waits for us to stop pursuing the unattainable.

We are not here to waste time with the expression of rigid forms. It is direct, simple, and without protocol. If fundamentally there is no difference, this must be apparent in actuality.

Simple things are almost always the hardest to explain, Julie. Showing someone how to tie a shoelace is easy. Explaining it is almost impossible.

We are inclined to think of hunters and gatherers as poor because they don't have anything; perhaps better to think of them for that reason as free. MARSHALL SAHLINS

We don't want to know a way to live that works well. We want to know the one right way.

It was said he could charm anyone, just by walking through the room. It was said he was blessed with a special power. But my father was humble, and he said it wasn't that at all. He just liked people, and people liked him. It was that simple, he said.

When the faith is strong enough, it is sufficient just to be. It's a journey towards simplicity, towards quietness, towards a kind of joy that is not in time. It's a journey that has taken us from primary identification with our body and our psyche, on to an identification with God, and ultimately beyond identification.

What I miss the most is chatting with my friends and family and having a good laugh over a simple meal.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

I remember once in junior high school, on a Friday, my mom came home from work and said to my brother and I, 'You know, between us, we have only 27 cents, but we have food in the refrigerator, we have our little garden out back, and we're happy, so we are rich.'

"True friendship is when you walk into their house and your WiFi connects automatically."

True happiness is found in simple, seemingly unremarkable things.

The secret of happiness is to find a congenial monotony.

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way."

To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.

The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.

"Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it and chase it directly, the more it eludes you; but if you sit quietly and busy yourself with other things, it will come and light upon your shoulder."

The key to finding a happy balance in modern life is simplicity.