Simplicity is a testimony which has assumed many forms. It implies sincerity, clarity, balance, genuineness, and avoidance of superfluity. It has been commonly referred to in books of discipline as “simplicity in dress, speech, and behavior.” This description can be misleading, however, since it refers to the external manifestation without articulating its purpose. John Woolman reduced the size of his business three times because it had grown so big that it took too much time away from his being with God.

For Friends, the purpose of a simple life is to remove the distractions that interfere with our conversations with the Divine. Excessive preoccupation with how we look to others, how much we are paid, what awards we have received, or indeed anything that becomes an obsession for us can create “noise” that keeps us from hearing and honoring the voice of the Inner Teacher.

Simplicity is a reminder that today, as surely as hundreds of years ago, we can choose to allow God to order our lives. It asks us to set aside time for prayer and spiritual discipline that open us to wisdom and guidance beyond our own. Today, as then, it refers to a life lit from within by the Inward Light, ordered by the love that nourishes the core, and freed by the Spirit from bondage to the superficial. The key query posed to Friends is, “What in my present life most distracts me from God?”