Prompt: Write about what you are learning to remove.
Alright, the prompt for today, June 24th, 2026, is: Write about what you are learning to remove.
This is an interesting one today, especially because I’ve been trying to grow herbs inside my home office, and it hasn’t been going well. For the last couple of months I’ve been trying to get something going, but parsley, cilantro, basil, catnip, mint—none of them were really growing properly. In two months I got maybe an inch and a half of growth on the basil, which is ridiculous.
So today I finally decided I was just going to take the pots outside and let the sun do the work.
Last week I did the same thing with the olive tree I’ve been trying to grow as part of a bonsai project. It just wasn’t thriving indoors, and the cats kept eating it, so I decided not to give up, but to refine my approach by putting it outside instead.
I don’t know what I’ll do in the winter. I’ll probably bring the olive tree back inside and hope it makes it through. But I think, after these last three months, I’ve finally learned what my capacity actually is within these new limits.
It’s an interesting time because my hand is getting better. As it improves, I’m discovering what I was actually capable of doing—and it turns out it was less than what I was trying to do.
I don’t know if that makes sense. That’s probably a bit of a roundabout way of saying it.
But I think what I’m getting at is that defining your craft is often more about what you can remove than what you can add.
Actually, Hannah walked into the office today, saw what I was working on, and said, “You’ve got a very modern sort of feel to what you’re doing.”
I think she’s right.
What I’m really aiming for is organic shapes, simplicity, and pieces with a singular function.
It’s an interesting approach to life, too. Take books—or, in my case, my Kobo. It’s a single-purpose device. An iPad is wonderful, but it does too many things. A Kobo does one thing really well.
The pen rest I’m making with the artificial sea glass is similar. It holds a pen while looking nice. There aren’t many parts. It’s straightforward.
I think that’s the aesthetic I’m trying to move toward.
Ultimately, it means culling. It means getting things out rather than adding more.
If we could do that with our lives as well—remove some of that constant desire for more, something I’m certainly plagued by, especially now with Amazon Prime Days—I think life becomes not necessarily simpler, but more functional.
When we’re trying to do too many things, we become distracted.
An iPad is distracting in a way that a book isn’t.
You know.
Right on.
You can find this prompt and many more at Letters Lounge, www.letterslounge.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one or any of the other prompts, so please leave a comment or share a link to your own blog or audio journal, and I’ll be sure to check it out.
Alright, folks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
This transcript was lightly cleaned up with the help of AI to improve readability while preserving the original voice and intent of the recording.
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