Etty Hillesum Quotes

First and foremost, the monk should own nothing in this world, but he should have as his possessions solitude of the body, modesty of bearing, a modulated tone of voice, and a well-ordered manner of speech. He should be without anxiety as to his food and drink, and should eat in silence.

He who demands little gets it.

Stay low, stay quiet, keep it simple, don't expect too much, enjoy what you have.

Freedom is not having everything we crave, it's being able to go without the things we crave and being OK with it.

It is the privilege of the gods to want nothing, and of godlike men to want little.

The best work I can do is to take myself as much as I can out of it and get it as simple as I can.

The good and the wise lead quiet lives.

The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

O ye gods, grant unto me to have little and to want nothing.

Be content to seem what you really are.

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.

The more you learn to live without, the more you'll have to live with.

I used to desire many, many things, but now I have just one desire, and that's to get rid of all my other desires.

Be satisfied with needs instead of wants.

I am a woman of simple tastes.

Let me tell you something: I'm a simple person who lives a simple life.

I'm not a guy who's about the material things.

I am someone without an ego.

I try to keep my life fairly simple. Being humble is really important.

Other people have more than they need, I alone seem wanting.

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.

It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.

There are times when life's just real quiet and simple. I sometimes get tired of people saying, "Well, what are you really like?"

Whatever does not pretend at all has style enough.

Cultivate simplicity or rather should I say banish elaborateness, for simplicity springs spontaneous from the heart.