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The Value of Voluntary Simplicity
The practice of simplicity means that you have decided to lay up your treasure in heaven rather than on earth; that your treasure will consist of intangibles rather than physical things; that it will not lie in the realm of material power; that you prefer to cultivate and amass the reality of human trust rather than its symbol, money. Practicing simplicity means not only that you have made this decision, but that you are doing one of the important parts of it, you are conforming with one of its essential preconditions, you are expressing your preference by actual conduct.
- GenresNonfictionPhilosophy
49 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1936
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 28, 2015
I read this online at http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/03...
Thanks to the other GoodRead reviewer on where to find it! I couldn't find it at the library or Amazon.
Some truly powerful concepts about simplicity, desire, "psychic goods" and—something I was not expecting—social power. Among the many things that Gregg discusses (much from Gandhi) Gregg argues that through simplicity, one achieves the trust of the (often poor) masses and proves to himself and others that he has nothing to lose. And from that vantage point, there is immense ability to influence social change.
Some quotes I pulled:
"If anyone wishes strong and enduring political power for a great cause, he will be wise to simplify his life greatly."
"Or again, if I have much real and personal property and am interested in it, my time is very largely occupied in looking after it."
"Nevertheless, the greatest characters, those who have influenced the largest numbers of people for the longest time, have been people with extremely few possessions. For example, Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Kagawa, Socrates, St. Francis, Confucius, Sun Yat Sen, Lenin, Gandhi, many scientists, inventors and artists. "The higher ranges of life where personality has fullest play and is most nearly free from the tyranny of circumstance, are precisely those where it depends least on possessions. . . . The higher we ascend among human types and the more intense personalities become, the more the importance of possessions dwindles."15"
"He who appreciates and understands a song, a symphony, a painting, some sculpture or architecture gets more satisfaction than he who owns musical instruments or works of art."
"I can explain it best by something which Mahatma Gandhi said to me. We were talking about simple living and I said that it was easy for me to give up most things but that I had a greedy mind and wanted to keep my many books. He said, "Then don't give them up. As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, you should keep it. If you were to give it up in a mood of self-sacrifice or out of a stern sense of duty, you would continue to want it back, and that unsatisfied want would make trouble for you. Only give up a thing when you want some other condition so much that the thing no longer has any attraction for you, or when it seems to interfere with that which is more greatly desired."...Since simplicity means the supplanting of certain kinds of desires by other desires, the best aid in that process is directing the imagination toward the new desires."
Thanks to the other GoodRead reviewer on where to find it! I couldn't find it at the library or Amazon.
Some truly powerful concepts about simplicity, desire, "psychic goods" and—something I was not expecting—social power. Among the many things that Gregg discusses (much from Gandhi) Gregg argues that through simplicity, one achieves the trust of the (often poor) masses and proves to himself and others that he has nothing to lose. And from that vantage point, there is immense ability to influence social change.
Some quotes I pulled:
"If anyone wishes strong and enduring political power for a great cause, he will be wise to simplify his life greatly."
"Or again, if I have much real and personal property and am interested in it, my time is very largely occupied in looking after it."
"Nevertheless, the greatest characters, those who have influenced the largest numbers of people for the longest time, have been people with extremely few possessions. For example, Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Kagawa, Socrates, St. Francis, Confucius, Sun Yat Sen, Lenin, Gandhi, many scientists, inventors and artists. "The higher ranges of life where personality has fullest play and is most nearly free from the tyranny of circumstance, are precisely those where it depends least on possessions. . . . The higher we ascend among human types and the more intense personalities become, the more the importance of possessions dwindles."15"
"He who appreciates and understands a song, a symphony, a painting, some sculpture or architecture gets more satisfaction than he who owns musical instruments or works of art."
"I can explain it best by something which Mahatma Gandhi said to me. We were talking about simple living and I said that it was easy for me to give up most things but that I had a greedy mind and wanted to keep my many books. He said, "Then don't give them up. As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, you should keep it. If you were to give it up in a mood of self-sacrifice or out of a stern sense of duty, you would continue to want it back, and that unsatisfied want would make trouble for you. Only give up a thing when you want some other condition so much that the thing no longer has any attraction for you, or when it seems to interfere with that which is more greatly desired."...Since simplicity means the supplanting of certain kinds of desires by other desires, the best aid in that process is directing the imagination toward the new desires."
September 5, 2024
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October 31, 2011(This refers to the online edition: http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/03... )
Enjoyable pamphlet, dovetails nicely with the Ruskin and Morris I have been reading lately. Makes some practical points and some philosophical/religious points (of a Quakerly-bent) for embracing a simpler, lower-consumption lifestyle. Mind you, he published this in 1936, when there was plenty of involuntary simplicity. But his cautions on consumerism, advertising, and decision-fatigue could have been written yesterday. Found the references to Toyohiko Kagawa interesting—I had never heard of him before.
"Indeed, if, as some people believe, we are at the beginning of a period of economic decline, it may well be that great simplicity of living is the main condition upon which the learned professions which require leisure will be permitted to exist. If so, the previous voluntary adoption of greater simplicity by the learned professions would count for their security and make the transition easier for them."
Enjoyable pamphlet, dovetails nicely with the Ruskin and Morris I have been reading lately. Makes some practical points and some philosophical/religious points (of a Quakerly-bent) for embracing a simpler, lower-consumption lifestyle. Mind you, he published this in 1936, when there was plenty of involuntary simplicity. But his cautions on consumerism, advertising, and decision-fatigue could have been written yesterday. Found the references to Toyohiko Kagawa interesting—I had never heard of him before.
"Indeed, if, as some people believe, we are at the beginning of a period of economic decline, it may well be that great simplicity of living is the main condition upon which the learned professions which require leisure will be permitted to exist. If so, the previous voluntary adoption of greater simplicity by the learned professions would count for their security and make the transition easier for them."
January 21, 2021
Written in 1936 about one of the core Quaker testimonies, simplicity. It seems even more timely in our society today which is defined and controlled increasingly by our inventions (science, technology, engineering) void of meaning. A few highlight excerpts:
“Voluntary simplicity involves both inner and outer condition. It means singleness of purpose, sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of exterior clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life. It means an ordering and guiding of our energy and our desires, a partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other
directions. It involves a deliberate organization of life for a purpose.” (p. 4)
“The great advances in science and technology have not solved the moral problems of civilization. Those advances have altered the form of some of those problems, greatly increased others, dramatized some, and made others much more difficult of solution. The just distribution of material things in not merely a problem of technique or of organization. It is primarily a moral problem.” (pp. 7-8)
“The relationships which science, machinery and money create are mechanical rather than organic. [The three] give us more energy outwardly but they live upon and take away from us our inner energy. We think that our machinery and technology will save us time and give us more leisure, but really they make life more crowded and hurried.” (p. 9)
"To say that only by the concentration of wealth can we attain great technical advances is not a valid argument, for already our technical development is out of proportion with the rest of our growth. We need to decentralize our economic, social and political life.” (p. 12)
“Voluntary simplicity involves both inner and outer condition. It means singleness of purpose, sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of exterior clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life. It means an ordering and guiding of our energy and our desires, a partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other
directions. It involves a deliberate organization of life for a purpose.” (p. 4)
“The great advances in science and technology have not solved the moral problems of civilization. Those advances have altered the form of some of those problems, greatly increased others, dramatized some, and made others much more difficult of solution. The just distribution of material things in not merely a problem of technique or of organization. It is primarily a moral problem.” (pp. 7-8)
“The relationships which science, machinery and money create are mechanical rather than organic. [The three] give us more energy outwardly but they live upon and take away from us our inner energy. We think that our machinery and technology will save us time and give us more leisure, but really they make life more crowded and hurried.” (p. 9)
"To say that only by the concentration of wealth can we attain great technical advances is not a valid argument, for already our technical development is out of proportion with the rest of our growth. We need to decentralize our economic, social and political life.” (p. 12)
December 30, 2021
Very important book for understanding the counter cultural movement in America. Well written and informative about a figure who has been overlooked in the discussion of Ghandi's influence on the United States.
December 23, 2020
Well worth the read. Under 10K words, so it can be read in one sitting (and re-read often).
Fits in well will the "minimalism movement" even though it was written in 1936.
Fits in well will the "minimalism movement" even though it was written in 1936.
March 8, 2016
Étonnamment moderne, concis, direct et précis, ce livre résume parfaitement les principes majeurs de la simplicité volontaire. J'aurais aimé avoir plus de matières à lire sur le sujet que l'auteur maîtrisait, mais ce minuscule livre (15 x 9 cm) est assurément incontournable pour tous ceux qui s'intéressent au thème du minimalisme et de la simplicité volontaire.
Merci aux traducteurs Pierre Thiesset et Quentin Thomasset qui ont rendu l'ouvrage de 1936 enfin disponible en français en 2012.
Merci aux traducteurs Pierre Thiesset et Quentin Thomasset qui ont rendu l'ouvrage de 1936 enfin disponible en français en 2012.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews