Living Simply – Christine Valters-Paintner 

“When we live simply, we relinquish expectations for how things will or should be, and remain present to the way things really are. We bring a contemplative presence to the world, compassionate and curious about what we might discover. Simplicity opens wide the doors for a process of letting go, allowing us to be fully present to the graces given us in this precise moment. When we practice simplicity, we also learn to dispose of burdens in our lives. These might be possessions, opinions, expectations, or commitments that no longer feed us but that we continue to fulfill because of how we want to appear to others. Simplicity invites us to make choices about our priorities and how we want to expend our limited energy.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD from The Artist’s Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom