We live in a world which values money and objects in a disproportionate way. In many ways, it seems that, in an effort to simplify our lives, we’ve created complex systems to get there.
For example, the evolution of phone technology. Twenty years ago, we couldn’t multitask on our cell phones and their use was limited to making calls and sending messages.
Now, we can do just about anything on our phones, meaning we’re spending an extraordinary time tasking and browsing on them. In order to make our lives more streamlined, we’ve also amassed a great deal of digital clutter.
Simple living takes us back to the basics. It strips us of the things we don’t really need and only focuses on what provides us the most value, in pleasure or necessity.
If you’d like to learn more about the meaning of simple living, and why it is beneficial to live simply, we’ve compiled a list of 51 quotes that will help inspire you to live a simpler life.
1. “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like” — Will Rogers
2. “Make your life simple but significant” — Dan Draper
3. “The greatest wealth is to live content with little” — Plato
4. ‘If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough
5. “Less is more.”— Robert Browning
6. “It is my belief that God created man to live the simple life in harmony with and giving respect to our earth and bountiful totality.” —Phyllis A. Williamson
7. “Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become” — Paramahansa Yogonanda
8. “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” —Hans Hofmann
9. “Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need. Not more.” —Mother Theresa
10. “The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.” — Joshua Becker
11. “Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little” —Epicurus
12. “The best things in life aren’t things.” —Art Buchwald
13. “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.” —Marie Kondo
14. “Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more.” — John Kabat-Zinn
15. “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” — Confucius
16. “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
17. “A low stress, simplified life is one in which the tough decisions and conflicts are met head on and handled immediately.” — Cary David Richards
18. “If I know anything about life, it’s this: it doesn’t have to be so complicated.” —Emily Ley
19. “Declutter your mind, your heart, your home. Let go of the heaviness that is weighing you down. Make your life simple, but significant.” —Maria Defillo
20. “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials” — Lin Yutang
21. “The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.” — Steve Maraboli
22. “Living simply makes loving simple.” — Bell Hooks
23. “A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with—that’s poverty—but how efficiently we can put first things first.” —Victoria Moran
24. “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.” — Henry David Thoreau
25. “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” — Lin Yutang
26. “Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” — Isaac Newton
27. “There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.” — Jackie French Koller
28. “Simple pleasures are the last healthy refuge in a complex world.” — Oscar Wilde
29. “The intention of 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
30. “Having a simplified, uncluttered home is a form of self-care.” — Emma Scheib
31. “Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.” — Albert Einstein
32. “Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.” — Charles Dudley Warner
33. “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” — William Morris
34. “We spend too much time making a living and too little time living and making.” — Rachel Dillon
35. “Live simply so that others may simply live.” — Mahatma Gandhi
36. “The simple life is an authentic life.” — Kilroy J. Oldster
37. “Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being.” — Lao Tzu
28. “Life is like art. You have to work hard to keep it simple and still have meaning.” — Charles De Lint
39. “When we lead a simple life, we achieve an unknown happiness —a happiness that surpasses any other form of happiness.” — Avijeet Das
40. “Buy less, choose well, make it last” — Vivienne Westwood
41. “People who decide to live a simple life reduce their material possessions and overall consumption and become satisfied with the things that they need and not with what they want.” — Ryan Cooper
42. “How many undervalue the power of simplicity! But it is the real key to the heart.” — William Wordsworth
43. “Finding a way to live the simple life is one of life’s supreme complications.” —T. S. Eliot
44. “Be a curator of your life. Slowly cut things out until you’re left only with what you love, with what’s necessary, with what makes you happy.” — Leo Babauta
45. “There is nothing more beautiful than living a simple life in this complex universe!” — Mehmet Murat Ildans
46. “Simplicity, clarity, singleness: these are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy.” — Richard Halloway
47. “Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.” — Sir Joshua Reynolds
48. “It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder
49. “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have even lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor.” — Henry David Thoreau
50. “The simplicity of life will make your life richer and fuller than trying to fit more in and having more.” — Kathy Stanton
51. “I would rather live a joyful simple life, doing what I love than to be unhappy and rich.” — Lailah Gifty Akita
Hopefully, these quotes have helped shed some light on what simple living is and all the many ways that it can help you live a life that’s filled with quality versus quantity. If you’re interested in learning more about simple living and how you can incorporate this concept into your life, you read our simple living guide here.