The rich young man

We encounter many obstacles on the inner journey. Paradoxically, the most formidable of them all—a life of comfort and ease, of having more than we need—doesn’t look like an obstacle.

Austerity, briefly

Food, sex, money, travel, and a perfect body—none of these, not even all at once, produce happiness. So can we just take them off the table and get on with business?

Austerity is plainness and simplicity. It is a quiet orderly life.

Austerity does not seek to repeat experiences. It does not look back.

Pleasure: Not sought. Pain: Not avoided.

Austerity disdains repetition. It eschews the unnecessary.

The bug under austerity’s stitched* shoe is indulgence.

Squish.

*What? You thought simple was cheap?