The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson,

and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

Minimalist living. Is it primal?

Into Android's dream of electric sheep, Philip K. Dick imagines a world overflowing with

Kipple, useless objects like junk mail paper clips, empty matchboxes, old light bulbs, depleted batteries,

and gum wrappers that reproduce when no one's around. It's a drab, dreary, depressing vision of the future.

It's not that bad yet, but we definitely have a problem with stuff. Our oceans contain vast

swirling vortexes of microplastics. The average American house contains over 300,000 objects, most of them we've long since forgotten.

Horders is a popular, horrifying reality TV show. The growing minimalist movement is a response to all this, a concerted effort to declutter, remove non-essentials, and simplify one's life. Dozens of minimalist blogs,

podcasts, books, and decluttering or organizing businesses have popped up. One of the best-selling

books in 2014 was the English translation of Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

Up, the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,

which asks readers to discard or donate every possession that does not immediately spark joy.

Her most recent book is already topping charts and spawning a cult of personality. It's big.

So how does minimalism jiive with the primal blueprint?

Readers or listeners of my blog are already familiar with my take on the minimalist or

barefoot shoe. Unencumbered by supportive arch inserts, stiff souls, and cramped dimensions,

the healthy human foot performs, feels, and functions best in a minimalist shoe.

It cuts out the fluff and artifice, the rent-seeking yet unnecessary modifications and upgrades

that characterize the modern shoe industry and distills the essentials of what the shoes should do.

Protect the bottom of the foot without changing the

heel height or cutting off incoming sensory data. Even if you don't currently wear minimalist

...