Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.

—Charles Mingus

Our life is frittered away by detail... Simplify, simplify, simplify! ... Simplicity of life and elevation of purpose.

—Henry David Thoreau

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter ... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life.

—John Burroughs

Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.

—Edwin Way Teale

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

You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.

—Vernon Howard

In character, in manners, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.

—Henry Longsworth Longfellow

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.

—F. Schumacker

Material blessings, when they pay beyond the category of need, are weirdly fruitful of headache.

 —Philip Wylie

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 nonessentials.

 —Lin Yutang

To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world.

 —Charles Dudley Warner

Maybe a person’s time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food.

 —Frank A. Clark

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.      —Leonardo DaVinci