Timeless Simplicity

(4.5 stars)John Lane's 100 page book is about the benefits of living a simple and less cluttered life. It's not about destitution, nor poverty, nor a clarion call to abandon materialism. He mentions early on that if you're someone who enjoys the pursuit of wealth and is motivated by a desire to earn and spend more, then this book is not for you. It's aimed towards those who feel discontentment by participating in the consumerist and materialist race that we see around us.Across 6 chapters, he builds on the argument from multiple angles - historical precedent, present day unhappiness, religious and spiritual examples, and a global environmentalist point of view. He's critical of industrial production because it catered more towards running machines to produce things rather than thinking whether people needed it or not. Once goods started being produced in hoards, people had to figure out how to sell it, and thus we are where we are where tons of advertisements nudge us to earn more to spend more.I was inching towards a perfect rating because I felt as though he went into my head and worded my thoughts onto paper but there were errant points that I didn't agree with - comments like higher divorce rates in the last century indicating increased levels of unhappiness, increase in crime, violence, and addiction as response to materialistic discontent, and glorification of poverty of some communities as spiritual richness. Nonetheless, it's a book I can come back to year after year if I get caught up in the rat race, just to remind myself of what I believe in

A beautiful book filled with thoughtful quotes and conscientious writing. Best read before bed or in front of a cozy fireplace with few distractions, this book will make you rethink your and society's chosen way of living. Do not read it, however, if you don't care about being content and/or don't care about others or the environment.

Fast delivery and exactly as promised!

Absolutely lovely book to help with the curse of modern living where many of us spend too much time on our phones and watching rubbish on telly. Covers all aspects of living simply including RESTRAINT. This has resonated most with me and has been easiest to put into practice straight away, particularly in my food choices - where previously (I can now reflect) I would have revelled in a permanent state of food indulgence, I’m now eating more simple fare and I’m beginning to feel lighter and brighter about my place in the world. Amazing how such a small difference can have a powerful effect.

While I think the book itself is a tad trite and simplistic, its truisms are given very nice light with illustrations by Clifford Harper, an artist who has championed a lot of green / socialist / anarchist ideology. It goes very well together. For those of you looking for more of a "how-to" guide with new ideas, i suggest subscribing to a magazine like "Mother Earth News" or "Permaculture Activist".

Very good arguments by te author and outline of other authors' views but the whole book could have been written in half the size