Friday, February 8, 2008
Simplicity Unclutters
Simplicity begins sensibly. You may wish to scrutinize your life for any excess baggage - not just material possessions, but affections, beliefs and prejudices that bog you down and impede your pursuit of happiness.
Complex machines are more likely to break down than simple tools. The same is true of your life. You are seeking to establish a functional, integrated life, which is marked by integrity. The simpler your life , the less there will be to manage or wear out because there will be fewer working parts. You will be able to concentrate on the things that produce the most satisfaction without worrying about accessories that malfunction
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Simplicity via Thoreau & Yount
"Simplify, simplify, simplify" urged Thoreau who followed his own counsel. What he sought and found was "economy". For Thoreau economy meant extracting the most from life by keeping the mind clear and the senses alert.
It is a mistake to believe that for life to be full it must be like a room crammed with furniture. A crowded life leaves no space and no time for enjoyment. Crowding distracts the mind, dulls the senses and starves the soul.
Simplicity enriches.
Thoreau's experience led him to this seemingly naive yet unquestionably wise conclusion: "That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Two Trees
Two young trees are planted close together
In common soil at marriage.
They send down roots together,
And feed on many of these same nutrients.
But as they grow taller and older
Some of the roots shoot out in different directions,
Away from each other, seeking mutually alien soil.
Nevertheless, the older original roots stay intertwined.
The trees also grow above ground.
Many of their branches intertwine and
Shape each other in the happy embrace of shared space…
But these trees are not only growing toward each other;
They are growing in all directions.
Like the roots, some of the branches
Stretch far away from the common center,
And breathe a mutually alien air.
Each tree is in itself whole and individual
And growing according to its inner design,
Yet shaped on the one side by its partner,
And on the other by the outside world.
Elise Boulding