When a person's primary objective is to maximize material pleasures while minimizing discomforts, then life becomes a constant process of "pushing" (trying to push away from discomforts) and "grabbing" (trying to acquire or hold on to that which gives pleasure).… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
I feel more voluntary about my pleasures and pains than the average American who has his needs dictated by Madison Avenue (my projections, of course). I feel sustained, excited, and constantly growing in my spiritual and intellectual pursuits. — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
Simplicity of living, if deliberately chosen, implies a compassionate approach to life. It means that we are choosing to live our daily lives with… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
It seems to me that inner growth is the whole moving force behind voluntary simplicity. — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
Poverty is mean and degrading to the human spirit, whereas a life of conscious simplicity can have both a beauty and a functional integrity… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
Simplicity means to feel such a sense of kinship with others that we choose to live simply so that others may simply live. — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
An elegant simplicity is an understated, organic aesthetic that contrasts with the excess of consumerist lifestyles. Drawing from influences ranging from Zen to the… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
“To live sustainably, we must live efficiently - not misdirecting or squandering the earth's precious resources. To live efficiently, we must live peacefully for… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
The character of a whole society is the cumulative result of countless small actions, day in and day out, of millions of persons. — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
Our life is frittered away by detail Simplify, simplify.” Or, as Plato wrote, “In order to seek one’s own direction, one must simplify the… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
Living simply is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation. It's about living an examined life where one has determined what is truly… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
Simplicity of living means meeting life face to face. It means confronting life clearly, without unnecessary distractions. It means being direct and honest in… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
Voluntary simplicity has more to do with the state of mind than a person's physical surroundings and possessions. — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
To live more simply is to unburden our lives - to live more lightly, cleanly, aerodynamically. It is to establish a more direct, unpretentious… — Duane Elgin Copy Share Image
