I Read Something Last Night...

Last night I read something that put into words, my exact feelings.  Feelings that I have at times tried to walk away from or discard.  Its hard to be different.  Its hard to swim against modern current thought all the time.  But, what I read last night felt like "coming home" in thought.  
First I read this from Wikipedia, not always a very reliable source but this struck me as beautiful in so many ways and it pushed me on to read more, find more, examine more and in the entire process, cement in me what I had known for years, "Simplicity" is my road home.
This morning I read these words from. . .The Quaker Testimonies

Simplicity

"The testimony to simplicity is integral to Quaker faith: our spiritual responsiveness 

depends on being as free as possible from dependence on material security. Quakers 

therefore seek to resist the temptation to define their place in society by acquiring 

possessions. In so far as we are led towards true simplicity we will increasingly be called 

to dissent from much of what the modern world stands for.

Simplicity is not just about possessions but also about attitudes. Because of their integrity 

in business dealings, many early Friends prospered in business, especially in the 19

th century. The wealth they accumulated was not, however, sought for its own sake but was 

often used for the wider benefit of society and especially the dispossessed. We live much 

less simply than our forebears a hundred years ago, or than people in most other countries 

in the world. Simplicity involves constantly challenging the way we live and what our 

true needs are, and especially how our own standard of living is sometimes achieved at the expense of others. It means standing aside from the fuelling of wants and manufacturing of new desires."

 I read this piece in Wikipedia, the spark that reignited an old familiar, once held firm belief, the one that sent me searching deeper...

"Friends believe that a person’s spiritual life and character are more important than the quantity of goods he possesses or his monetary worth. Friends also believe that one should use one’s resources, including money and time, deliberately in ways that are most likely to make life truly better for oneself and others. The word testimony describes the way that Friends testify or bear witness to their beliefs in their everyday life. A testimony is therefore not a belief, but is committed action arising out of Friends' religious experience. Testimony to simplicity includes the practice among Quakers (members of the Religious Society of Friends) of being more concerned with one’s inner condition than one’s outward appearance and with other people more than oneself."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimony_of_Simplicity
At this time of year, when I head to the stores for that perfect Christmas gift for a loved one, its good to head out the door of the house with this mindset of simplicity.