20 Quotes About Simplicity
The empty bowl is the useful one. From the Tao to wabi-sabi to lagom, these quotes are about the wealth that comes from wanting and keeping less.
“Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more common you appear.”
“We sleep less than any generation in history and we are sicker, more depressed, and less productive for it. The trade was never worth it.”
“Time poverty is the new poverty. We have more material wealth and less time than any generation, and the cost of the trade is being paid by our marriages, our children, and our bodies.”
“Take a simple idea and take it seriously.”
“Financial independence is the experience of having enough — and then some.”
“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
“Routinely sleeping less than six hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubles your risk of cancer.”
“The ka of a man (his vital essence) lasts only as long as Maat has shaped him.”
“Deliberate cold exposure releases dopamine in a tonic and lasting way — the same neuromodulator that fuels motivation, drive, and pursuit. Two to five minutes, cold enough to want to leave.”
“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.”
“Life, if well lived, is long enough.”
“I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is compassion. The second is frugality. The third is not daring to be ahead of others.”
“When you are content to be simply yourself and do not compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
“A goal is not always meant to be reached. It often serves simply as something to aim at.”
“When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block.”
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”
“Maitri begins with the simple, radical act of being kind to yourself.”
“Pare down to the essence, but don't remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered, but don't sterilise.”
“All things are impermanent, all things are imperfect, and all things are incomplete. Three simple realities — and wabi-sabi is the grace of living inside them rather than against them.”
“The crow, having no garments, is never cold. The pheasant, dragging its long tail, is never delayed. Each thing is enough as it is.”