An actual blank page needn’t announce itself—it’s merely blank. Likewise for a simple life—it’s simple not because it reports to be, but because of what’s there, and what isn’t.

One night, a couple of years ago, my phone was stolen during a night out with my friends. Trying in vain to track its location the following day, I was overwhelmed with a feeling that a piece of me was missing.

18 months ago, I didn’t know what minimalism was. Sure, I’d experienced minimal music, visual art, and fashion, or perhaps I’d used the term a few times in a work context.