What we all need now is a little luxury, and as Dorothy Parker says above, the rest can take care of itself. Here's how luxury is already moving me forward in a good way.
image: Caroline Donahue for Remabulous.
Now, the interesting thing is that most people assume a luxury has to be expensive. We think of four star hotels and new cars and other sorts of things that the advertising world has convinced us we need to pay lots of money to have so that we can live a full life. What I think is that luxury is something that is the opposite of expensive. Luxury, I have com to realize has everything to do with experience rather than commodity.
Today, I got up, made a cup of tea, wrote several pages of the novel I am currently working on, then did a session with a client, took a long hot shower in the outside shower, went for a drive with my dad to look at fall leaves, and then came back and did more work with a fire in the fireplace and finished the evening with another session. None of these activities cost an exorbitant amount of money. In fact, two activities- sessions- made me money.
What is important is determining what is actually luxurious for you, rather than what the media tells you you should think is a luxury.
While we all seem to feel this a time to tighten our belts and cut down on extraneous activities and get very frugal and restricted, I am certain that this isn't the best answer to find happiness in a difficult time.
Far better to turn inward and get clear about what we each love to do and make a list of those things, and making certain we do one each day. I'll bet that if you really think about it, none of them cost very much. Here's my list of real luxury:
- a cup of tea in the morning, and the time to sit and drink it while it's still hot
- a hot bath
- watching a film outside in my friend Erin's yard with a glass of port
- reading in a cafe with a delcious cafe au lait
- working on my writing project for more than twenty minutes at a time
- knitting on the couch with a movie
- a nap on a picnic blanket in the park
- sewing something I actually want to wear
- browsing through japanese craft books in little tokyo
- reading blogs with no real agenda
- wandering around in a new neighborhood
- riding my bike to the farmer's market on Saturday morning and picking out the week's produce
- having friends over for a home cooked dinner
- sleeping in and reading in bed before getting up on the weekend
If we fill our time with activities and experiences that are meaningful to us, then we are in a less insecure place, and less likely to buy things to fill the void that is left by worry and busywork. We may come to realize that the luxuries are the necessities we have been rushing around to try to create.
What would be on your list if you made it? What feels luxurious to you? Commit to fitting more of those things into your life this week, and see if it changes how you feel during a stressful and fascinating time. Then share your story here. I can't wait to hear about new luxuries I haven't thought of yet!
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