Eiman’s Reviews > Timeless Simplicity: Creative Living in a Consumer Society > Status Update

‘No irony, no суnicism, no self-satisfied cleverness, no street-wise urban 'cool', but a condition at once receptive, concentrated and egoless. Self consciousness stands in the way of unconditional contentment; it hinders the experience of grace and living in the present. Self-consciousness is the unpardonable curse of our individualism. It…stands in the way of egoless contentment.’

The contented person is not reliant on any of these developments. He is satisfied with the measure of his condition, joyful at the opportunity to be alive, unobsessed by ambition, concerned with inner rather than outer exploration, certainly creative in outlook and activity…”Simplicity is about loving something more than you love 'more’”

‘it is necessary to abandon the hard-edged personality cultivated by many ‘successful' professionals, to ignore the contemporary social stigma that mere housekeeping is unprestigious, undemanding, low status work’

‘eating fast food makes one dependent not only on the multinational companies controlling the food market, but also on intensive factory farming, monoculture, nitrates and pesticides. A diet of dishes based on refined flour and sugar, saturated fat, salt and chemical flavourings, is anything but inexpensive and healthy.’

‘Careful consuming has many implications. It means purchasing objects that are functional, durable, energy-efficient, nonpolluting, healthy and, if possible. repairable. We can choose between quality and quantity in all things. It means nursing them instead of throwing them away.’

“In other centuries, human beings wanted to be saved, or improved, or freed, or educated. But in our century, they want to be entertained. The great fear is not of disease or death, but of boredom. A sense of time on our hands, a sense of nothing to do. A sense that we are not amused.”

‘Indeed, if we compare the rich with the poor, it often seems that those with less are often less anxious. As for the rich... they are so caught up with the idea of acquiring more that they make no room for anything else in their lives. As a result, they are constantly plagued by mental and emotional suffering — even though outwardly they may appear to be leading entirely successful and comfortable lives.’