Simplification

What would our world look like if we were all to simplify our lives just a little? I recently reread “Gift from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. “To ask how little, not how much, can I get along with. To say—is it necessary? —when I am tempted to add one more accumulation to my life, when I am pulled toward one more centrifugal activity.”
What makes it so challenging to simplify our lives? Is it the saying no, the fear of missing out, the expectations of others? How often are we complicating our lives with things that have no true meaning for us?
Sometimes I pare a day down to its simplest form. I had the opportunity to do this while camping this weekend. Waking, eating, reading, running, watching kids play, watching the play of light on the river, napping, talking with friends, playing, listening to my son, listening to the quiet, walking, dreaming… I notice I breath more fully on those days. I feel more at ease with others and myself. I reconnect with myself.
It feels like a luxury when I take this time and yet I notice that I am able to carry many of those feelings into the week ahead. I’m more present, and at peace with others and myself. Maybe it’s not a luxury if it means being the best I can be more often.
I want to simplify my life so that I can be more present. I want to ask myself more often—Is it necessary? ---