Simplicity

"That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."
Henry David Thoreau wrote in 1856.

Thoreau was the unofficial head of the nineteenth century's "voluntary simplicity movement."
He is one of the most influential figures in American thought and literature.

Thoreau was an individualist, he championed the human spirit against materialism and social conformity. In his book "Walden" he gives an account of his solitary living, which he did for two years in a small cabin that he built on the shore of Walden Pond near Concord. He planted vegetables and did odd jobs to support himself.

People embrace simpicity for different reasons. Some do it out of economic necessity. They choose not to be in debt and cut down on luxuries and other personal habits that they can do without. Others do it because they refuse to follow the rat race. Their goal is to spend time on living instead of making a living.