Shifting into Our Right Brain By Simplifying Our Spaces

The Shakers' philosophy revolved around three concepts: Honesty. Functionality. Simplicity. I took these photos at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, here in Kentucky.

By Courtney Snyder, MD

​“Our lives are frittered away by detail…Simplify. Simplify.” - Henry David Thoreau. 

This quote, with its sense of urgency, serves as a powerful reminder of our mortality. It is one of my favorite quotes because it also brings a sense of comfort, a sigh of relief, and the permission to prioritize what truly matters in life.

There are many ways to simplify our lives, and one effective approach is by reassessing the items in our spaces. In this post, I'll explore how making changes to our external environment can lead to internal transformations, particularly when we feel lost, stressed, anxious, down, or stuck. A "space" could be anything—a drawer, the top of our desk, our car, our closet, or even a box we've stored away. This isn't about minimalism or neatness; it's about shifting from a left-brain mindset driven by accumulation and consumption to a right-brain perspective focused on the bigger picture of our lives.

Having pondered this topic for the past 15 years, I'm sharing 10 insights from both past and present.

Read the full article on Substack