LESS INTERESTING THAN SILENCE

Sara Maitland (1998) in her book on the experience and love of silence, relates how simplicity became more and more appreciated as she moved through her life:

I began to recognize that silence and simplicity do have a connection. I found myself immensely encouraged and influenced by Henry Thoreau … and have increasingly adopted his economic theory... We should not calculate our wealth by how much we had or owned, but by how much free time we have. How much time there is left over when our needs have been met is the best measure of wealth. This means of course, that the less you need the richer you are. I started asking myself about everything I thought about buying not, “Can I afford this?” but “Am I prepared to spend x hours working at something less interesting than silence in order to have it?” (p. 262)

Sara Maitland, A Book of Silence (Counterpoint Press, 2010), ch.8.