Authored by Jovana Erić
There‘s a sense of freedom that appears when we enter a room where nothing is out of place. Drawers hold the only clutter we choose to live with, while the absence of outer untidiness loosens the mind. Something in us expands, even though we’re not sure why.
Minimalism today is often seen through the lens of an aesthetic trend, just another one to follow blindly. However, its essence is far from what mainstream media suggests. It’s a psychological event that increases our mental clarity. When the eye isn’t constantly stimulated, the nervous system can finally relax, replenish, and sharpen. Free of imposed clutter, the brain resists sensory noise – empty spaces often feel like cognitive oxygen.
When we look at life more deeply, using real metaphors and drawing connections between them, everything becomes both more logical and more intuitive. Take a chessboard, for example. It has a rigid structure with just enough room to welcome all the pieces and give them space to move. We can clearly see how 64 squares contribute to the rich life happening there. The empty squares, the ones where no piece has yet landed, hold both possibility and direction. From this emptiness, new opportunities tend to emerge. The same clarity a board offers is what we seek in our homes and routines.
We crave order and simplicity because they help us handle what comes next. There’s a sense of calm in the strict geometry before the first move is played. We can predict what might happen. We can prepare, take control of the emerging events, and ultimately our own life, once it gains some meaningful order. While 64 squares, or a two-bedroom flat, may seem rigid in their original form, they can offer mental clarity simply by letting us know where each piece belongs and giving everything its place.
Our brains thrive in environments with a clear internal logic. Chaos confuses our inner compass, while structure brings comfort. However, neither carries greater significance alone, nor should they exist separately. Chaos and structure are intertwined, much like our internal wisdom. We need emotional regulation that leans on structure, clarity, and less clutter in a chaotic world that increases its input every day. We can’t compete with that pace. Spatial freedom is what allows the mind to settle and deepen.
The power of empty squares creates negative space – the areas we don’t occupy but that still influence us. We don’t need to clutter the board with pieces just to feel like we own them. We can cultivate their potential instead. In life, we also hold the power of empty squares in our schedules, our minds, our homes, our relationships. We don’t need to fill them with noise or stuff to feel in control. We can let the empty spaces work for us by giving us freedom of choice. The spaces we don’t fill are just as important as the ones we do. They are key to our sanity and our clear vision. We need those psychological moments of breathing room in the spaces we create and engage with.
This calming effect extends beyond sight: when we simplify our tasks, decisions, and self-imposed obligations – the ones we create just to fill the void of empty hours – we create genuine room for our own thoughts. That’s where emotional regulation can finally happen. It lowers stress hormones, destimulates the brain, and even helps our heart rate settle. Open spaces give us this freedom, as paradoxically the absence promotes depth. The air of minimalism is vital. It gives our minds a place to inhale again.
In the end, minimalism exists everywhere – in our rooms, our routines, and even on the chessboard. But never as emptiness in its raw form. It’s a bold permission to finally breathe. A space where creation begins. We don’t crave minimalism for its aesthetic alone, but because it helps us return to ourselves. To regain what we lose a little of every day without noticing – our purpose.
Minimalism has its own geometry. Once we understand it, it doesn’t shrink us. It lets us expand.
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About The Author
Serbian Woman Grandmaster in chess with an academic background in biology - writing when
creativity strikes and blending conceptual work with human experience. Author of Chess
ThroughMy Eyes: Life Lessons Hidden in 64 Squares and two instructional chess guides.
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