# Voluntary Simplicity Second  ## Metadata - Author:: [[Duane Elgin]] - Full Title:: Voluntary Simplicity Second - Category: #books ## Highlights > The visionary scientist-philosopher Buckminster Fuller, at the beginning of space flight, pointed out: “We are the crew of space-ship Earth, but we are a crew in mutiny. How can you run a spacecraft with a mutinous crew?” ([Location 62](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=62)) > Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. —Leonardo da Vinci ([Location 247](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=247)) > The choice facing humanity is described in stark terms by Professor Jared Diamond in his prize-winning book Collapse. He writes that, one way or another, the world’s environmental problems will get resolved within a generation. “The only question is whether they will become resolved in pleasant ways of our own choice, or in unpleasant ways not of our choice, such as warfare, genocide, starvation, disease epidemics, and collapses of societies.”1 ([Location 256](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=256)) > Simplicity that is voluntary—consciously chosen, deliberate, and intentional—supports a higher quality of life. Here are some reasons people consciously choose simplicity: ([Location 286](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=286)) > Simplicity fosters a more harmonious relationship with the Earth—the land, air, and water. ([Location 288](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=288)) > Simplicity promotes fairness and equity among the people of the Earth. ([Location 289](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=289)) > Simplicity cuts through needless busyness, clutter, and complications. ([Location 290](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=290)) - Tags: [[favorite]] > Simplicity enhances living with balance—inner and outer, work and family, family and community. ([Location 292](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=292)) > Simplicity reveals the beauty and intelligence of nature’s designs. ([Location 293](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=293)) > Simplicity increases the resources available for future generations. ([Location 294](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=294)) > Simplicity helps save animal and plant species from extinction. ([Location 295](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=295)) > Simplicity keeps our eyes on the prize of what matters most in our lives—the quality of our relationships with family, friends, community, nature, and cosmos. ([Location 297](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=297)) > Simplicity yields lasting satisfactions that more than compensate for the fleeting pleasures of consumerism. ([Location 299](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=299)) > Simplicity fosters the sanity of self-discovery and an integrated approach to life. ([Location 300](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=300)) > Simplicity blossoms in community and connects us to the world with a sense of belonging and common purpose. ([Location 301](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=301)) > Simplicity is a lighter lifestyle that fits elegantly into the real world of the twenty-first century. ([Location 303](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=303)) > Shallow simplicity assumes that green technologies—such as fuel-efficient cars, fluorescent lightbulbs, and recycling—will fix our problems, give us breathing room, and allow us to continue to behave pretty much as we have in the past without requiring that we make fundamental changes in how we live and work. ([Location 339](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=339)) > Cosmetic simplicity puts green lipstick on our unsustainable lives to give them the outward appearance of health and happiness. ([Location 341](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=341)) > A superficial simplicity gives a false sense of security by implying that small measures will solve great difficulties and allow us to continue along our current path of growth for decades or more. ([Location 342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=342)) > Simplicity is not an alternative lifestyle for a marginal few. It is a creative choice for the mainstream majority, particularly in developed nations. ([Location 385](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=385)) > Simplicity means taking charge of lives that are too busy, too stressed, and too fragmented. Simplicity means cutting back on clutter, complications, and trivial distractions, both material and nonmaterial, and focusing on the essentials—whatever those may be for each of our unique lives. ([Location 396](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=396)) > As Thoreau said, “Our life is frittered away by detail…. Simplify, simplify.” ([Location 398](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=398)) - Tags: [[favorite]] > Or, as Plato wrote, “In order to seek one’s own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life.” ([Location 399](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=399)) > Simplicity means placing the well-being of one’s family ahead of materialism and the acquisition of things. ([Location 404](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=404)) > Simplicity means feeling such a strong sense of kinship with others that, as Gandhi said, we “choose to live simply so that others may simply live.” ([Location 409](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=409)) # Voluntary Simplicity Second  ## Metadata - Author:: [[Duane Elgin]] - Full Title:: Voluntary Simplicity Second - Category: #books ## Highlights > The visionary scientist-philosopher Buckminster Fuller, at the beginning of space flight, pointed out: “We are the crew of space-ship Earth, but we are a crew in mutiny. How can you run a spacecraft with a mutinous crew?” ([Location 62](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=62)) > Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. —Leonardo da Vinci ([Location 247](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=247)) > The choice facing humanity is described in stark terms by Professor Jared Diamond in his prize-winning book Collapse. He writes that, one way or another, the world’s environmental problems will get resolved within a generation. “The only question is whether they will become resolved in pleasant ways of our own choice, or in unpleasant ways not of our choice, such as warfare, genocide, starvation, disease epidemics, and collapses of societies.”1 ([Location 256](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=256)) > Simplicity that is voluntary—consciously chosen, deliberate, and intentional—supports a higher quality of life. Here are some reasons people consciously choose simplicity: ([Location 286](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=286)) > Simplicity fosters a more harmonious relationship with the Earth—the land, air, and water. ([Location 288](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=288)) > Simplicity promotes fairness and equity among the people of the Earth. ([Location 289](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=289)) > Simplicity cuts through needless busyness, clutter, and complications. ([Location 290](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=290)) - Tags: [[favorite]] > Simplicity enhances living with balance—inner and outer, work and family, family and community. ([Location 292](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=292)) > Simplicity reveals the beauty and intelligence of nature’s designs. ([Location 293](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=293)) > Simplicity increases the resources available for future generations. ([Location 294](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=294)) > Simplicity helps save animal and plant species from extinction. ([Location 295](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=295)) > Simplicity keeps our eyes on the prize of what matters most in our lives—the quality of our relationships with family, friends, community, nature, and cosmos. ([Location 297](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=297)) > Simplicity yields lasting satisfactions that more than compensate for the fleeting pleasures of consumerism. ([Location 299](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=299)) > Simplicity fosters the sanity of self-discovery and an integrated approach to life. ([Location 300](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=300)) > Simplicity blossoms in community and connects us to the world with a sense of belonging and common purpose. ([Location 301](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=301)) > Simplicity is a lighter lifestyle that fits elegantly into the real world of the twenty-first century. ([Location 303](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=303)) > Shallow simplicity assumes that green technologies—such as fuel-efficient cars, fluorescent lightbulbs, and recycling—will fix our problems, give us breathing room, and allow us to continue to behave pretty much as we have in the past without requiring that we make fundamental changes in how we live and work. ([Location 339](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=339)) > Cosmetic simplicity puts green lipstick on our unsustainable lives to give them the outward appearance of health and happiness. ([Location 341](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=341)) > A superficial simplicity gives a false sense of security by implying that small measures will solve great difficulties and allow us to continue along our current path of growth for decades or more. ([Location 342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=342)) > Simplicity is not an alternative lifestyle for a marginal few. It is a creative choice for the mainstream majority, particularly in developed nations. ([Location 385](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=385)) > Simplicity means taking charge of lives that are too busy, too stressed, and too fragmented. Simplicity means cutting back on clutter, complications, and trivial distractions, both material and nonmaterial, and focusing on the essentials—whatever those may be for each of our unique lives. ([Location 396](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=396)) > As Thoreau said, “Our life is frittered away by detail…. Simplify, simplify.” ([Location 398](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=398)) - Tags: [[favorite]] > Or, as Plato wrote, “In order to seek one’s own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life.” ([Location 399](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=399)) > Simplicity means placing the well-being of one’s family ahead of materialism and the acquisition of things. ([Location 404](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=404)) > Simplicity means feeling such a strong sense of kinship with others that, as Gandhi said, we “choose to live simply so that others may simply live.” ([Location 409](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003100UMO&location=409))