This essay, written in 1987, explores the spiritual basis of Friends’ testimony of simplicity: how it evolved from the efforts of early Friends to live in a way that fostered the spiritual richness of their lives, and how it continues to speak today in the lives of those who seek to find not merely “balance,” but an unseamed wholeness of their inward and outward journeys. As environmental, economic, and technological events in our times push us with accelerating speed towards fragmentation of ourselves, our lives, and our communities, the “taproot” of simplicity continues to offer us wisdom for building lives of harmony and integrity. Discussion questions included.