My introduction to the word 'minimalism' was as a teenager, being introduced to Brian Eno's Ambient 1/Music for Airports. It was like the sweetest breath of fresh air down my earholes. Music that swept me away and decluttered my aural environment.

For a long time I thought of minimalism as an aesthetic or style. A sparsely decorated room or that genre of music made of processed ambient sounds and long drone loops. I've always been drawn to these expressions. I don't like clutter, and I love to have things around me simple and clear.

But in recent years I've been drawn to something in minimalism that transcends the surface levels of life. Take a look at my Minimal Manifesto here. These are some ideas from minimalism that have resonated deeply with me.

It stretches deeper. Helping us look at the reality of our finite existence, so that we can understand what matters most, and strip away all the stuff that anchors us into unhealthy attachments, ways of thinking, and patterns of behaviour.

Ultimately it is about freedom. And about acknowledging that we don’t have the capacity, time, or energy for everything. Yet we do have the ability to choose and discern between things that mean something and things that don’t. Whether it be stuff, work, people, commitments, opinions, and so on.

The Prison of Least Resistance
I've been reflecting on this a lot lately. I have been feeling anything but free. Burdened by tasks and overcommitment from the gradual drift of the mindless more. I've been on a return to some core minimalist principles. These have helped me audit my energy/time, and recalibrate.

This process has had a direct impact on the podcast. Because I’ve decided to make it a monthly rather than weekly show.