A Book of Simple Living: Brief Notes from the Hills

by Ruskin Bond

A Book of Simple Living is a gift of beauty and wisdom from India’s most loved, and most understated, writer.

think I have learnt something of the value of stillness. I don’t fret so much; I laugh at myself more often; I don’t laugh at others. I live life at my own pace. Like a banyan tree. Is this wisdom, or is it just old age?

When all the wars are done, a butterfly will still be beautiful.

am also a lover of solitude. Naturally, one thinks better when one is alone. I prefer walking alone to walking with others.

If, by telling a lie, one can make someone happy, why not tell the damn lie?

I’m watching the stars from my window. Every time I see the sky I am aware of belonging to the universe rather than to just one corner of the earth. And in the silence that settles in the hills at night, the smallest sounds become clear—a field mouse rustling through dry leaves, a seed falling, and the drip of the dew running off the roof.

These little miracles don’t happen especially for us. Sunlight will filter through leaves, dew will settle on

spider’s web, birds will sing and a mountain stream bubble and chatter even when there is no one around to see or hear. All that is in our power is to be there. To be there, wherever we are.