The Journey ~ Paulo Coelho

“Joy is sometimes a blessing, but it is often a conquest. Our magic moments help us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes, we are going to suffer, we will have difficult times, and we will experience many disappointments — but all of this is transitory, it leaves no permanent mark. And one day we will look back with pride and faith at the journey we have taken.”

~ Paulo Coelho

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho

Artwork from Helen Timbury

https://helentimburydesign.com.au/

Your Life ~ Henry David Thoreau

“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The faultfinder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see, but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.” 

~ Henry David Thoreau

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

Artwork from Jane Dignum

https://www.janedignum.com/

In the Woods ~ Bernard of Clairvaux

“Believe me, for I know, you will find something far greater in the woods than in books. Stones and trees will teach you that which you cannot learn from the masters.”

~ Bernard of Clairvaux

More at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux

Artwork from Gail Kellett

http://www.gailkellett.com.au/artworks/

Why Things Are ~ Donald B. Kraybill

"We forget to ask why things are the way they are... Children quickly learn common cultural values and take them for granted. Cereal becomes the "right" breakfast food. Socialization - learning the ways of our culture - shapes the assumptions by which we live. We take our way of life for granted. We assume the way things are is the way we ought to be. Eating cereal for breakfast, day after day, makes it seem unquestionably right. We internalize the values and norms paraded on the screen and billboard as simply "the way life is"... The values, beliefs, and norms of our society become so ingrained in our mind that we no longer see the alternatives.

~ Donald B. Kraybill

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Kraybill

Artwork from Arthur Rackham

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rackham

A Tree ~ Louise Dickinson Rich

“A house you can rebuild; a bridge you can restring; a washed-out road you can fill in. But there is nothing you can do about a tree, but mourn.”

~ Louise Dickinson Rich

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Dickinson_Rich

Artwork from Nat Morley

https://www.natmorley.co.uk/portfolio.php

Affirmative Action ~ Anthony T. Hincks

“Money will not save the environment. It will only end up going into the deep pockets of those people in charge. Affirmative action needs to be taken. Get rid of the greedy corporations and individuals. Go back to grass root living. Start being responsible for what you do and don't do. If I miss out on some commodities or so called needed items in life, so be it. I would rather that my children grow up in a beautiful world without wars and pollution than have them wake up gasping for breath only to find that there is no clean water to drink and no clean air to breath.”


~Anthony T. Hincks

More at

 https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HincksAnthony

Artwork from Billy Jacobs

http://www.billyjacobs.com/

City Forests ~Robert Hart

"Obviously, few of us are in a position to restore the forests.. But tens of millions of us have gardens, or access to open spaces such as industrial wastelands, where trees can be planted. And if full advantage can be taken of the potentialities that are available even in heavily built up areas, new "city forests" can arise..."

~Robert Hart

More at 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hart_%28horticulturist%29

Artwork from Thomas Kincade

https://thomaskinkade.com/

Commitment ~Arthur Gish

"Simplicity also involves commitment. To be committed one does not need to be famous or accomplish great feats. Faithfulness in small things is the basis of great achievements. Many are unfaithful not because they are unconcerned about big issues and causes, but because they neglect little things. Those who cannot be trusted in little things can also not be trusted in larger things.

Follow the little light that G_d has already given, but do not expect more light until you follow what you have."

~Arthur Gish

More at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Gish

Artwork from Valeriane Leblond

 https://www.valeriane-leblond.eu/home.html

Pending Storm ~ Gert

"Honestly, it reminds me of raising kids – and family struggles. How many times we’ve begged and pleaded, tried one method or another, and continued to find a child (or several of them) uncooperative and determined to win the draw. Some of us tiptoe around our kids, doing whatever we can not to “set them off” so they won’t be upset with us. Sometimes we ignore a pending storm, hoping if we ignore it, it will simply go away.  Sometimes we try to confront the problem, but find the way we handled it only made things worse. There’s a way to handle kids in that pouting or belligerent mode, and that’s to “reset” them. I used to do this with our kids, and I’ve done it with foster kids. Most times, it works like a charm......... Sometimes we as adults could stand some “resetting” ourselves. Even our marriages can benefit from this! To reset is to simply shut things down and wait until all the wires and sparks are completely cooled off. When there are no sparks, there won’t be heat.  If there’s no heat, there won’t be a fire. When the fire is out, it’s safe to resume."

~ Gert

More at https://mywindowsill.com/

Artwork from Gustave Baumann

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Baumann

Resting Easy ~Joel Salatin

“Food security is not in the supermarket. It's not in the government. It's not at the emergency services division. True food security is the historical normalcy of packing it in during the abundant times, building that in-house larder, and resting easy knowing that our little ones are not dependent on next week's farmers' market or the electronic cashiers at the supermarket.”

~ Joel Salatin

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Salatin

Artwork from Kristine Kainer  https://www.kristinekainer.com/

Two Roads ~ Rachel Carson

“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been travelling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less travelled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the Earth.”

~ Rachel Carson

More at https://www.rachelcarson.org/

Artwork from Lucy Timbrell

http://lucytimbrell.blogspot.com/?m=0

We Understood ~ Mohammed Faris

“Not long ago, local farms and markets were the only source of food in one's life. We understood where our food came from, the ground in which it grew, and its link to our Creator. Today, however, with the globalisation of the food industry and the ever-increasing urbanisation of humanity, we've lost this link to the earth and forgotten our dependence on the Creator to provide food for us.”

~ Mohammed Faris

More at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProductiveMuslim

Artwork is a mural worked on by several artists. More at:

https://www.langleyadvancetimes.com/entertainment/collection-of-32-murals-to-be-unveiled-at-b-c-farm-museum-in-fort-langley-this-summer/

Overwhelmed by the Gifts~ Norman Wirzba

"To work in a garden is to be surrounded by the mysteries of germination, growth, and decay, and it is to be overwhelmed by the gifts of raspberries, tomatoes, and onions that surprise us with their fragrance and taste. But it isn’t all pleasantries. To garden is also to be frustrated by the disease and death that are beyond one’s control and power. Where did this blight come from? Why won’t this seed germinate? A late frost again? The temptation is always to give up and walk away. But that isn’t really a viable option. If people are to eat, they must eventually return to the ground.......

Gardening is one of the most vital practices for teaching people the art of creaturely life. With this art people are asked to slow down and calibrate their desires to meet the needs and potential of the plants and animals under their care. Gardeners are invited to learn patience and to develop the sort of sympathy in which personal flourishing becomes tied to the flourishing of the many creatures that nurture them. A garden, we might say, is a living laboratory in which we have the chance to grow into nurturers, protectors, and celebrators of life........ To garden well – in the skilful modes of attention, patience, sensitivity, vigilance, and responsiveness – is to participate in the way G_d gardens the world."

~ Norman Wirzba

More at 
https://www.theworkofthepeople.com/person/norman-wirzba

Artwork from Cath Read http://www.cathread.co.uk/

Silence has Aways Been a Battle ~ Joy Clarkson

"It comforted me to read of the Desert Fathers’ and Mothers’ struggle with acedia, because they made me see that we are not the first generation to fight this battle. The desert parents longed to know G_d and to cultivate that sacred silence and blessed boredom, and so do I. But befriending that silence was a struggle for them, just as it is for me. It made me realize that while smart phones and social media may impede our interior world, it is no real excuse. Impediments toward peace and quiet have always existed. Our shapeshifting opponent may have changed its guise from sleepiness to social media, but it is still there, doing all it can to rob our empty hours of their fullness.

We cannot give up the battle for holy silence and for blessed boredom simply because we live in a world with smart phones. To pursue silence, boredom, even loneliness, is a radical choice in our world, but it was a radical choice in theirs as well. We must choose to turn away from the constant entertainment that vies for our attention. We must allow ourselves to be lonely. Silence has always been a battle. Prayer has never been easy."

~ Joy Clarkson

More at http://itia.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/people/students/joy-clarkson/

Artwork from Carl Larsson http://www.carllarsson.se/en/

Meaning of The Rolling Hills ~Hal Borland

"Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance. What man can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon?"

~Hal Borland

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Borland

Artwork from Clair Curtis

https://clarecurtis.co.uk/product-category/illustration/

Never Said a Word~ Arthur Gish

"The highest power we can imagine is the calm, the sublime. Anyone who has experienced the power of Quaker worship knows the power of silence. Dominic is reported to have visited Francis of Assisi and during their whole visitt they never said a word to each other.

Simplicity is to know G_d. It is the fulfilment that decaying societies and materialism can never satisfy or destroy. The longing for the infinite can be fulfilled only in relation to the infinite. Simplicity is to recognize mystery. People complicate things to deny mystery. Much activity, complexity and intellectualization are an attempt to escape from G_d. Simple faith is to live in a relation to G_d rather than to speculate about Him."

 ~ Arthur Gish

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Gish

Artwork from Kim Herringe

https://kimherringe.com.au/lino-printing/after-dark-reduction-linocut/

Our Door is Open ~ Philip Britts

"One of the best contributions of the school of organic farming to agriculture is this call for a genuine love of the land.......  But just as we do not believe that organic farming can find its full meaning outside the context of the whole of life, neither do we believe that an organic society can exist for itself, or have its only significance for the small group of people who are living it.

One of two things must happen. Either man will decline, through war, famine, disease, and the falling birth rate...  or we must learn to live peaceably together, in a society where the demand for wealth or position, ease or comfort, is supplanted by the just sharing of everything, and a free giving of strength and brains in service, not of self, but of the whole.

We do try to farm organically, but we see this as only a part of an organic life, and existing in the context of a search for truth along the whole line. This gives rise to social justice as brotherhood, to economic justice as community of goods. We see these conditions as the necessary basis for a true attitude towards the land and towards work. Therefore, our door is always open to all people who wish to seek a new way with us."

 ~ Philip Britts

More at  (a fascinating read),

https://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/poetry/who-was-philip-britts-water-at-the-roots

Artwork; some talented artist provided us with this image, which is all over the internet, but their name is not attached anywhere that I can find.

Infinite Wonders ~ Nicolas Gallicus

"I want to tell you of the joys of the solitary life. The beauty of the elements, the starry heavens and the planets ordered in perfect harmony, invite us to contemplate infinite wonders.... All our sisters the creatures strive in the solitude to fill our eyes, ears and feelings with caresses. Their inexpressible beauty cries out in silence and invites us to praise the marvellous Creator."

~Nicolas Gallicus (1270 AD)

More at 
https://fountofelijah.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/5/7/22570238/ignea_sagitta_ii_pdf.pdf

Artwork from David Alderslade
https://www.davidalderslade.com/

A Thousand Simple Things ~ Mark Boyle

"This way of life I have now adopted is often called “the simple life,” but that’s entirely misleading. It’s actually quite complex, made up of a thousand simple things. By contrast, my old life in the city was quite simple, but made up of a thousand complex things, like smartphones and plug sockets and plastic. The innumerable technologies of industrial civilization are so complex they make our own lives simple .......

What I think people mean by “the simple life” is the uncomplicated essence of it all, and, yes, there is a timeless simplicity to it. I’ve found that when you peel off the plastic that industrial civilization vacuum-packs around you, what remains couldn’t be simpler. Healthy food. Something to be enthusiastic about. Fresh air. A sense of belonging and aliveness. Good water. Purpose. Intimacy. A vital and deep connection to life. The kind of things I did without for too many years."

~ Mark Boyle

Please, if you have the time, please read the full article at;
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/environment/not-so-simple


More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Boyle_(Moneyless_Man)

Artwork from 
https://www.greenpebble.co.uk/collections/sharon-marie-winter

Throw Away your Status ~ Arthur Gish

"Throw away your status hang-ups. Forget about being respectable in society's eyes. Much of your money now is probably spent to give you respectability. Don't be embarrassed to do things that save money.

Begin to drop out of the rat-race. Think of those things you despise most in the establishment and begin to remove yourself from them. Don't support them or contribute to them any longer."

 ~ Arthur Gish

More at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Gish

Artwork from Fran Caldwell
https://www.ebsqart.com/Artist/Fran-Caldwell/16233/

Healing Comes ~ Christopher Bamford

"When we are at home in the garden, tending and nurturing all its plants, animals and minerals, living with them through all the seasons and days, then healing comes upon us like a gift and makes us whole."

~ Christopher Bamford

More at 

https://steiner.presswarehouse.com/books/AuthorDetail.aspx?id=24250

Artwork From Mary Summer

https://www.greenpebble.co.uk/collections/mary-sumner

The Smallest Quantity ~ Bill McKibben

“Lincoln said that cultivating even ‘the smallest quantity’ of ground bred freedom and independence. ‘Ere long the most valuable of all arts, will be the art of deriving a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil. No community whose every member possesses this art, can ever be the victim of oppression of any of its forms. Such community will be alike independent of crowned-kings, money-kings, and land-kings.” 

~ Bill McKibben

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_McKibben

Artwork from John Augustus Walker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Augustus_Walker

Our Planet ~ E.F. Schumacher

“The real problems of our planet are not economic or technical, they are philosophical. The philosophy of unbridled materialism is being challenged by events.” 

~ E.F. Schumacher

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Schumacher

Artwork from P J Crook 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._J._Crook

We Do Not Rule ~ Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

“I saw that animals were important. I saw that plants were even more important. I was also to learn that compared to many of the other species, we weren't important at all except for the damage we do. We do not rule the natural world, despite our conspicuous position in it. On the contrary, it is our lifeline, and we do well to try to understand its rules.” 

~Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Marshall_Thomas

Artwork from Niki Bowers
http://www.cambridgegallery.co.uk/nikibowers/

The Longest Journey ~ Arthur Gish

"It is said that the longest journey begins with one step. So it is with simplicity. There is no one place to begin, but as good a place as any is to simplify our desires. Both our emotional needs for things and our actual physical needs can be simplified.  Learn to know the difference between real emotional needs and addictions. The complexity of our lives is directly related to our material desires. Most of our real needs are of the spirit, such as meaning, purpose, and friendship. By simplifying our material desires our lives will become less burdensome..."

~ Arthur Gish

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Gish

Artwork From Evelyn Dunbar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Dunbar

Mere Wants ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

"When we focus on people and life instead of material possessions and mere wants, there's not much room for emotional hand-wringing. Instead, there's more space to weigh what we value in our lives and to acknowledge what really counts."

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

More from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Ingalls_Wilder

Artwork from  Karla Gerard
 https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/karla-gerard.html

Sweetness~ E. B. White

“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.” 

~ E. B. White

More from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._White

Artwork from Dee Nickerson 

http://www.southwoldgallery.co.uk/artists/128/dee-nickerson

Which we Belong ~ Aldo Leopold

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” 

~ Aldo Leopold  

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Leopold

Artwork from Walt Curlee 
http://www.waltcurleeart.com/walt-curlee-bio-page.html

Grazing and Nesting ~ John Ruskin

 "The living inhabitation of the world — the grazing and nesting in it, — the spiritual power of the air, the rocks, the waters, to be in the midst of it, and rejoice and wonder at it, and help it if I could, — happier if it needed no help of mine, — this was the essential love of Nature in me, this, the root of all that I have usefully become, and the light of all that I have rightly learned."

~John Ruskin

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruskin

Artwork from Mark Hearld
https://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/collections/mark-hearld

For Good or Bad ~ Matthew Landis

"Social media is also more decentralized than TV or radio. The individual sitting in his living room can amplify his voice, for good or bad. When two people are talking together in person they are communicating directly with each other without any type of interface. With social media, there’s an application (such as a web app or a phone app) that’s mediating or brokering our communication, which then has the ability to shape what we say..... The ability to amplify a message is one of the ways that social media can be beneficial. Posting a positive message that reaches all around the world is a huge opportunity. On the other hand, many people take the same opportunity to distribute negative or harmful messages.... One important thing to remember when considering involvement in social media is to act on social media like you act in person. Providing of course that you are acting right in person. Be consistent between who you are in person and who you are on social media. If you don’t talk about yourself all the time in person, don’t do it on social media."

~ Matthew Landis 

More at

http://anabaptistperspectives.org/2018/06/25/mennonites-social-media/

Artwork from Carl Larsson 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Larsson

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Backs to the Sun ~ Parker J. Palmer

"We are exploring together. We are cultivating a garden together, backs to the sun. The question is a hoe in our hands and we are digging beneath the hard and crusty surface to the rich humus of our lives.” 

~Parker J. Palmer

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Palmer

Artwork from Camille Pissarro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Pissarro

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Radicals Ideas ~ Ching Ning Chu

"Many of the things that you have been taught were at one time the radical ideas of individuals who had the courage to believe what their own hearts and minds told them was true, rather than accept the common beliefs of their day."

~ Ching Ning Chu

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chin_Ning_Chu

Artwork from Frederick Cayley Robinson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Cayley_Robinson

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How Hard You Try ~ Ray Bradbury

"No matter how hard you try to be what you once were, you can only be what you are here and now." 

~ Ray Bradbury 

More at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury

Exciting Challenge ~ Jenny Spinks

"Simple and sustainable living is effective when we are connected to each other; when we work together in community, and when we are connected with the earth; when we are closer to our food sources. People in the world who live in this way experience a happiness and fulfilment that we are deprived of-that deep sense of belonging that comes with those connections and that encourages a faith in G_d, or the light, or the universal spirit. So living the simplicity testimony is not a series of personal sacrifices for the good of others. It is choosing a path that leads to our own inner wellbeing, and more joy in our lives. I believe that it does not help us to be hard on ourselves and act out of guilt. Instead we can see it as an exciting challenge to make it a priority to increase those connections in our lives and see how that improves our sense of inner wellbeing and, as a beautiful side effect, reduces the inequalities in human society helping to create a culture of peace."

~ Jenny Spinks

More at 
https://www.quakersaustralia.info/sites/aym-members/files/pages/files/2007%20Lecture.pdf

Artwork from Ellie Ling http://www.ellieling.co.uk/