Minimalism: A Conversation with Patrick Rhone

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About a decade ago I sold, gave away, donated, or recycled the vast majority of my belongings. All I was left with was a small storage unit and an incredible amount of freedom.  

Since then, I’ve never wanted to accumulate “stuff” again.

In the space that was created by getting rid of my things (and, coincidentally, moving to a mountain village in the Philippines for 4 months), I suddenly became so much more productive, but in an incredibly relaxed way.

Without scheduling demands, a house that needed constant cleaning, hours spent each week sitting in Central Florida traffic, and saying “yes” to things that I should have been saying “no” to, I suddenly found myself more creative, more focused, and more efficient than ever before.s, I slowly took on more things, but always the desire to keep things simple, and the mantra “less is more” has been of paramount importance to me. 

Because with that space comes the freedom to travel, to create, and to just be. Recently minimalism has hit the world stage, and it’s sparked a conversation that I think has been long overdue. 

And it made me realize I’ve been a minimalist for a long time…I just never called it that. But regardless of what you want to call it, it’s really about realizing that less is more and enjoying having space in our lives.

space could show up in our homes by getting rid of the excess. This, of course, is entirely subjective and must be determined by each of us individually. It could show up in our schedules by not overfilling our day and saying “no” so we can say “yes” to what matters most. 

It shows up in our bodies when we do yoga, expanding in those places where we were contracted. And it shows up in our minds when we meditate, allowing room to open up between our thoughts so that we are living with more awareness and more intention. 

Even more recently the show “Tidying Up” with Marie Kondo has been shaking things up in a lot of homes. This makes me realize that there are a whole lot of people in the world today feeling overwhelmed, heavy, congested, and not at all light and free.  

This is most obvious in our homes because there are things making that apparent to us. 

What is less obvious is how this shows up in other areas of our lives. For example, how many of us are feeling stuck, weighted down by the emotional energy of our past because we don’t know what to do with it?

How many of us are feeling depressed or anxious, if not stressed, because of the thoughts that we ruminate over, or the many different thoughts that are tripping over themselves vying for our attention?

I was gearing up to do a podcast about this topic of minimalism because, while I’ve never really called it that, it’s been present in my life for about a decade now. But just before I went into the recording studio (which, by the way, is really nothing more than a walk-in closet in my bedroom), I heard back from Patrick Rhone. 

I first learned of Patrick Rhone when he was among the few that were included in a documentary called Minimalism, A Documentary About The Important Things.  Patrick is also the author of the book Enough.

While I was just about to push “record” and do my own podcast on the topic, when I heard back from Patrick I decided to turn this into a conversation. And it is one I thoroughly enjoyed having. 

Listen in as Patrick and I discuss what minimalism means to us, how to live as a minimalist (whether or not you choose to label it) when your spouse or partner is not, and the other surprising ways living with less can enhance the quality of our lives.

Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts, or listen here.

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