Recently, I was asked to define what luxury meant to me and not just luxurious luxury.  You know, luxury that conjures up images of expensive vehicles and sumptuous meals/homes/thing-you-purchase or stupidly expensive shoes (yes, I believe spending oodles of money on shoes to be stupid), etc.  No, this question of personal luxury was defined as an authentic, “having tremendous value,” article in life.  What would that be?

Hmmm.  Tall order, to be sure.  So, know that I thought about it very seriously before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).

First off, all of the stereotypical items of typically perceived luxury did pass through the Wiffle Ball holes of my mind, including the ones I listed before.  But when I sat quietly and tried to distill the concept of what I would define as true luxury in my life, here’s what I came up with:

Quiet Time

My greatest number one luxury in my life, and the hardest one to come by, is my quiet time.  Having long bouts of uninterrupted time with no noise and no timer on a clock to have to stop or truncate that time, is almost impossible to come by.  It seems that when I do try to piece together quiet time, there are phone calls and emails and texts and doorbells that punch holes in the silky fabric of silence I’ve wrapped myself in.  It is a luxury I don’t come by often enough.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

Time and activities have a way of slicing sleep into wafer thin slivers that resemble rest, but don’t quite cut it.  My brain and I both know that I function best on 7+ hours, but life gets in the way of living and throws big jarring monkey wrenches into those hours, leaving me with a handful of 5 or 6 hours that are often doled out in fits and starts (or over the course of a day, if a nap is forced in there somewhere).  I like my sleep in big delicious chunks, not wimpy slices.

Time with Loved Ones

I consider the ability to give myself to the people who love me (or even LIKE me, for that matter) a great, great luxury.  This realization comes after years of squandering my time on those who used and abused the time and love I gave to them.  The idea that I actually have the power to turn love and attention to those deserving shouldn’t feel like a luxury, but it does – now that the sand left in the hour glass has diminished.  Giving away the precious time I’m being given is more valuable to me now.  So much more so than it was when I had loads of time to spare, and it wasn’t as dear.

The dictionary has three definitions for what luxury is and my two favorites are: 1) a condition or situation of great comfort, ease, and wealth; 2) something that is helpful or welcome and that is not usually or always available.

Gosh, if I had time to indulge in those three things that I consider luxurious, I can guarantee it would 1) bring a great deal of comfort and ease to my days (maybe even contributing to my ability to achieve some kind of wealth, truth be told) and 2) be unbelievably helpful and welcome (as we know, it certainly is not always available).

The third definition about luxury squinches my heart a little, as it is described as: 3) something that is expensive and not necessary.  Yes, it might be expensive, but I think it is totally necessary, when it all comes down to brass tacks (which are neither expensive, but possibly necessary, I don’t really know).

Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Though we eat little flesh and drink no wine, yet let’s be merry; we’ll have tea and toast; custards for supper, and an endless host of syllabubs and jellies and mincepies, and other such ladylike luxuries.”  That’s a pretty nice description of luxury, too – at least it is, if it’s shared with friends, in a peaceful place and there’s a long (7+ hours) winter nap to follow.  It’s good to know, that in the lap of luxury – toast is involved.  I feel better.

xo – t.

“Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.” ~ Cesare Pavese

“It is the ultimate luxury to combine passion and contribution.  It’s also a very clear path to happiness.” ~ Sheryl Sandberg

“The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.” ~ Charlie Chaplin