Come All Ye Who Are Heavily Cumbered

In the Quaker Study Sessions for Canadian Yearly Meeting in August, 2014, Mark A. Burch listed the impacts of simple living:
... If you would prevent war, live simply.
... If you would live nonviolently, live simply.
... If you want to participate in the democratic life of your community, live simply.
... If you would live sustainably, live simply.
... If you would live in such a way as to promote economic and social justice, live simply.
... Adopt a more active and healthier way of life by living simply.
... If you would free time and energy for relationships with others, live simply.

Since much of the violence in the world is structural in nature and is imposed on our behalf on distant others whose suffering is out of sight and therefore out of mind, Mark urges us to reduce it by cultivating personal and regional self-reliance through simple living. He explores how our lives have become encumbered, the spiritual roots of simplicity, and how we may regain it.