Contentment comes not so
Contentment comes not so much from great wealth as from few wants. Epictetus
Minimalism
My thoughts are messy,
My thoughts are messy, my emotions are messy, my body goes in and out at will. The raised white scars on my arms and legs are the only aspect of my being that comes close to minimalism. They came from chaos, but it is hard to carve frustration and unease into the flesh. Only straight … Read more
Gertrude Stein, all courage
Gertrude Stein, all courage and will, is a soldier of minimalism. Her work, unlike the resonating silences in the art of Samuel Beckett, embodies in its loquacity and verbosity the curious paradox of the minimalist form. This art of the nuance in repetition and placement she shares with the orchestral compositions of Philip Glass. Elizabeth … Read more
The consumption society has
The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. Elise M. Boulding
Reduce the complexity of
Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves. Edwin Way Teale
Simplicity is the final
Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art. Frederic Chopin
One can furnish a
One can furnish a room very luxuriously by taking out furniture rather than putting it in. Francis Jourdain
I have much to
I have much to learn from my daughter Sofia. Her minimalism exposes my limitations: I’m too instinctive and operatic, I put too much heart into my work, I get lost sometimes in bizarre things – it’s my Italian heritage. Francis Ford Coppola
The intention of this
The intention of this way of life [voluntary simplicity] is not to dogmatically live with less. It’s a more demanding intention of living with balance. This is a middle way that moves between the extremes of poverty and indulgence. Duane Elgin
The trouble with simple
The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn’t simple. Doris Janzen Longacre