Tag: contentment
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Sit on a Pumpkin
Thoreau would rather have a plain seat to himself than a fancy one in a crowd. Here’s a one-week way to find the pumpkin version of your own life.
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The Sweet, Simple Things
Laura Ingalls Wilder was still learning, at 50, that the small things are the real ones. Here’s a one-week way to notice them.
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His That Enjoys It
Franklin said wealth belongs to whoever enjoys it, not whoever owns it. Here’s a one-week way to collect on what you already have.
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The Gift to Be Simple
A Shaker song from 1848 calls simplicity a gift and promises “the place just right.” Here’s how to make one small spot in your home feel that way this week.
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Is This the Condition That I Feared?
Seneca’s advice for anyone afraid of having less: practice it for a few days, then ask whether it was really so bad. Here’s how to try it this week.
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When Enough Is Too Little
Epicurus on why nothing is enough when enough already feels too little, and one small practice for the week.
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Promote What You Most Value
“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them.” Joshua Becker, The More of Less Joshua Becker puts the spotlight where it belongs. Minimalism is not a contest to own the fewest objects. It is a quiet decision about what gets your attention,…
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Outer Order for Inner Calm
“Outer order contributes to inner calm.” Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm A messy kitchen counter should not be able to set the tone of your whole day. Yet it often does. Rubin’s line names a small truth most of us feel before we admit it. Clear the surface, and your mind often follows. This…
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Restraint for Greater Abundance
“A partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other directions.” Richard B. Gregg, Voluntary Simplicity Gregg wrote that line in 1936, long before tiny houses and decluttering challenges had hashtags. He was naming something quieter than a purge. Simplicity, for him, was not a costume of poverty. It…
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When Nothing Is Lacking
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching Most of us chase the next thing before we finish noticing what we already have. A better couch. A newer phone. A kitchen upgrade that…
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A Certain Bigness in a Little House
Square footage is an easy scorecard. Bigger looks like winning, and smaller can feel like a concession. Dee Williams learned the opposite in an 84-square-foot house she built herself after a health scare reordered her priorities. “I found a certain bigness in my little house, a sense of largeness, freedom, and happiness that comes when…
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20 Minimalist Living Quotes to Own Less and Live Freely
20 minimalist living quotes from Joshua Becker, Marie Kondo, The Minimalists, and more — short lines to own less and live with more freedom.