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/