Path to Simplicity

FL - Week 6

Wandering with Purpose

In 1999 I saw Satish Kumar’s book Path Without Destination in a bookstore and was captured by the photo on the cover. As I read the description of the journey this man made as a young monk, I was compelled to read the book. I found his story of great interest and as one Millennium was ending and a new one was beginning, I was inspired to make each day more meaningful. Travel had always been a significant part of my life. Conversations along the way sweetened the journey.

There is now a new revised version of the book, and I reread it with joy.

New revised and updated version of Path Without Destination

US Book link | Canadian Book Link

Kumar’s Latest Book

He also has a new book out that I read this week. The simplicity he describes is not just in your personal life, but in your impact on the whole of life. Simplicity does not have to be minimal or lacking. The best simplicity is in harmony with the world around us and can be elegant. Worth reading.

US Book Link | Canadian Book Link

Satish Kumar Biography

from Amazon description

When he was only nine years old, Satish Kumar renounced the world and joined the wandering brotherhood of Jain monks. Dissuaded from this path by an inner voice at the age of eighteen, he became a campaigner for land reform, working to turn Gandhi's vision of a renewed India into reality. Fired by the example of Bertrand Russell, he undertook an 8,000-mile peace pilgrimage, walking from India to America without any money, through mountains, deserts, storms and snow. It was an adventure during which he was thrown into jail in France, faced a loaded gun in America, and delivered packets of 'peace tea' to the leaders of the four nuclear powers. In 1973 he settled in England, taking on the editorship of Resurgence magazine, and becoming the guiding light behind a number of ecological, spiritual and educational ventures. Following Indian tradition, in his fiftieth year he undertook another pilgrimage: again without any money, he walked to the holy places of Britain - Glastonbury, Lindisfarne, and Iona. The new hardback 4th edition is published in 2014 to commemorate 25 years since the foundation of Schumacher College, with new chapters about the college and to bring Satish's story up-to-date. Written with a penetrating simplicity, No Destination is an exhilarating account of an extraordinary life.

Back on the Road Again…

Ensō and I will hit the road this weekend after a lovely six weeks here on Anastasia Island in St Augustine, Florida. Thank you Bill and Linda for giving me a place to rest and relax.

Next post every Sunday.