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/

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/

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

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/

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

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/

Goodness of Creation ~ Arthur Gish

"The best way to affirm the goodness of creation is to use it properly  and give all people equal access and rightful stewardship responsibilities to it.  This means good stewardship of what has been given to us, conservation, and non-exploitation. One treats the environment with respect and therefore does not waste or pollute it. It means taking care of what we have and not accumulating more than we can take care of. An affirmation of the goodness of creation leads to passionate concern for economic and social justice."

 ~ Arthur Gish

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

Artwork from R S Badmin
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Roy_Badmin

So Simple ~ Monica

 "The sky was clear and blue, and the sun sparkled on all three inches of pool water. Off in the distance I could hear the hum of an air conditioner, and much closer, the song of birds. The air smelled fresh and clean. My brain was parked in neutral. I was having that elusive experience that is a complete moment of peace.

I had the presence of mind to ask myself, how did I obtain this moment? How can I have more?

One thing I noticed was that in my peaceful moment, I was engaging almost all of my senses. Everything I saw, heard, touched, and smelled was calm and pleasing. The other thing I noticed was that I was completely engaged in the moment. There were no thoughts of what needed to be done or what happened yesterday. It was full immersion in the present. What a blessing it is to focus on being and not doing, to celebrate and give praise to what life is at that very moment. Oh, it's so simple and yet so rare!

So here is another lesson I learned on obtaining a more peaceful life. Take time to live in the moment. Engage all of your senses in that moment. Most importantly, plan for peaceful moments, and if you can't plan, then be on the look out for random moments of being still that you can cultivate into quiet moments of joy."

~ Monica

More of this outstanding blogg at 
 http://www.blueskiesandshooflypies.com/

Artwork Rom Welsh-Canadian artist Valeriane Leblond
http://www.valeriane-leblond.eu/home.html

Divine Pleasures ~Thomas de Quincey

“Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.”

~ Thomas de Quincey

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

I am unable to find the artist, sorry!

Thoughtless ~ Amish Rules of a Godly Life

"Be especially diligent to keep free from the vulgar thoughtless habit of swearing and the profane use of the holy name of G_d. It is indisputable evidence of a frivolous, impious, and ungodly character. It is also true that he who seeks with oaths to add strength and truth to his words is seldom a man of integrity; for if he has no scruples against misusing G_d's name, why should one suppose that he has any conscience against lying? "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matt. 5:37). And that you might the better avoid profaneness, seek not the companionship of the profane, where you, too, may through familiarity fall into the habit."

 ~ Amish Rules of a Godly Life

More att http://hayquaker1.blogspot.com/p/rules-of-life-translated-by-joseph.html

Simple, Genuine Goodness ~ Louisa May Alcott

“Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.” 

~ Louisa May Alcott

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

Artwork from  Paige Koosed http://www.koosed.com/index.html

Constant Dynamic Process~ Stephen Batchelor

"A genuine spiritual life is not one consisting of a series of disconnected and undefined experiences occurring at random; it is a constant dynamic process incorporating every element of our being."

~Stephen Batchelor

More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Batchelor_(author)

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