Margaret Arnold • November 16, 2024
Benedictine Lessons in Simplicity

I have learned about simplicity in some unexpected places. Simplicity reveals itself in the smallest gestures: using both sides of copy paper when printing, returning chairs to their proper place before leaving a conference room, turning off lights, carefully thinking about the lettering design and placement of signage. These are all examples of simplicity I observed and came to appreciate working for a Benedictine community. Although Benedictines don't formally commit to poverty in their vows, their founding document, The Rule of St. Benedict, emphasizes moderation and contentment with basic provisions … a simple lifestyle.


I first noticed the practices with a colleague who introduced me to repurposing the other side of copy paper surprisingly in a work setting for draft documents. Why not use the other side of copy paper until you are ready to present the final draft? This is a practice that I have kept for nearly 20 years and goes beyond recycling and reuses the blank side of the paper.


i have learned about simplicity in some unexpected places


With the same team, I was taught a form of Benedictine hospitality by pushing in conference and dining table chairs at the end of a meeting or lunch before departing. It seemed to not only show respect for the material furniture but greeted the guest who would use the space next. This practice – pushing in chairs after meetings and meals – taught me to see space as something we share with future users. Now I find myself pushing in chairs, tidying up areas in any space I’m in - meeting rooms, restaurants, hotel rooms, etc., - and find others following my example. The extra step ensures savings, kindness to the next group and simple respect for space.

As a marketing communications professional, preparing concepts, materials and campaigns for campus exterior signage and displays for approval became the purview of a monastic design committee. In our fast-paced world of viral content and disposable ideas, the monastics’ slow, deliberate approach to design and visual space can test your patience. Yet over time, I came to appreciate the community’s slow and deliberate process as the world moves faster and faster and things and ideas become so viral and disposable.


While I’m no expert in The Rule of St. Benedict, the values and people who embody them have deeply influenced my life. Beyond the community’s larger stewardship work and programs, it’s these small, mindful practices that are my daily companions. Look closely, you’ll see simplicity’s silver threads in every corner of your life.


  • Notice one space you use and how you can leave it ready for the next person.
  • Try the two-sided paper practice this week.
  • Keep an eye out for simple, thoughtful design. Did it still catch your attention?



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Past Blogs

An Earth Day Project to Last a Decade

By Margaret Arnold • April 26, 2025
Earth Day has significant meaning for me. Beyond falling during my wedding anniversary week (4.23), this global day has involved cleaning ditches with my children and outdoor spring projects. It's ideal for honoring Earth's wonders as nature awakens in Minnesota. For a third year, my gift to Earth is a forest management project first shared last year on LinkedIn . My husband and I have tackled buckthorn eradication , transforming our woods to reveal 300-year-old oaks, black cherry, cedar trees and the land's natural contour. While I attempt to embrace simplicity, this conservation project isn't simple! Eradicating this invasive shrub (and larger old trees) from our forest will take a decade or more. It demands physical work and resources, but the rewards extend beyond restoring native habitats in my corner of the world. my gift to the earth is a forest management project ...

Miles, Enduring Friendships and Loose Change

By Margaret Arnold • April 13, 2025
Last Sunday, three friends and I celebrated spring birthdays with a long walk and brunch. Though still brisk walkers as former "runner girls," we paused to appreciate the beautiful spring morning as we wound through streets, a wooded trail with frozen ground, and finally a shared-use path. Greeting passing runners reminded me of my younger self, but I've grown content with my natural walking habit. Four years ago, I retired from decades of running for a consistent walking routine. I no longer feel compelled to justify my walking routine against running and have fully embraced this new habit and discovered unexpected treasures beyond the well-known health benefits. EACH WALK OFFERS BRILLANT SUNRISES, UNIQUE CLOUD FORMATIONS, CHATTERING BIRDSONGS ...

Warranty Wisdom: A Mother’s Lesson

By Margaret Arnold • March 30, 2025
While I'm not an expert on warranties, I am the daughter of a mother who took advantage of them for small home products. With three daughters in the house, she purchased a few blow dryers especially when her three teenagers cared enough to wake up early and style our hair. I remember our mother packaging up a non-operating Conair blow dryer and shipping it to take advantage of the product warranty at the time (today it’s three years). Decades before the internet, there is no doubt she kept the product literature to reference the important warranty and shipping information. In her last months of life, she once instructed me to look up warranty and replacement information on her favorite Ottlite sewing lamp she had in her office that wasn’t working. She loved this lamp and was determined to have it in use again. I remember lovely conversations with the customer service person explaining the issue, what we should do next and even a friendly follow-up email! In that spirit, and with the ease of the internet, I have taken advantage of a few product warranties. My research and approach are based on my love of the product itself and doing a quick cost-benefit analysis, including product quality, time and shipping costs. However, I have found the first step is to create a simple warranty tracking system for my favorite products – whether through browser bookmarks, email folders or paper files – just as I’m sure our mother did with her product literature as there wasn’t a piece of paper she won’t hold on to “just in case.” "A Customer is never out of warranty, even if his product is." Seth Godin