Embracing simplicity: How minimalism unlocks creativity and truth

I’ve always been drawn to simplicity. There’s something pure and grounding about it—a way to return to what matters most. And yet, my mind has a knack for complicating things.

Take, for example, the local community singing event I’ve been planning. For weeks, I convinced myself I needed a full band. The result? Endless overthinking and delays. But as summer reminds me, life feels more aligned when I let things be simple—when I allow myself to focus on the essentials rather than getting caught up in unnecessary complexity.

This same lesson shows up in my work with Doorway sessions. Clients often receive simple images—a tree, a waterfall, a cloud—and worry that they’re “not doing it right” or that the image is too basic to be meaningful. But the truth is, these images are portals into something much deeper.

In Doorway work, we’re not analyzing these images in a psychological sense; we’re entering them. These metaphoric images invite us into a shamanic dimension where the potent, creative energies of the Universe touch us directly. The simplicity of the image is precisely what allows it to work so profoundly.

As one of my clients, a therapist and coach, said after a session:

“This didn’t just give me answers; it imbued me with answers.”

Metaphor lets us feel Truth in a visceral, whole-bodied way. It bypasses the chatter of the mind, grounding us in the creative essence of life itself.

The artist Jean Dubuffet beautifully captured the power of simplicity in art:

“…the work of art is much less than what many people imagine it to be in the sense that it is neither necessary nor even useful that it should involve a broad orchestration. Take dance for example, I consider it absolutely pointless to put fifty sumptuous decked out dancers on the stage; for what I am looking for a single dancer will do… Similarly, the effect produced by music never seems to me to be improved by the use of large orchestras, and the Bedouin in the desert seems to me to obtain as much or more playing alone on his little flute.”

Dubuffet’s words resonate deeply with me. Whether it’s art, music, or the way we live our lives, simplicity invites us into a richer, truer experience.

So this summer, I’m choosing simplicity. It’s my way of coming back to my roots, to the things that matter most.

What about you? Where can you let go of complexity and embrace the beauty of what’s simple?