Luxury is not panties, lipsticks, restaurants, or stilettos. Real luxury is living your life the way you are comfortable.
In comfortable underpants. In comfortable shoes. With the color of lipstick you like, or no lipstick at all. Eating food you like, being friends with someone warm, being together for love, not out of a sense of duty. Learning to give up things you don’t need. Things that have outlived themselves. Worn out. And cherish what you love.
My friend’s 5-year-old daughter has been going out all her little life with only her own spoon. She has the luxury of eating with the spoon she likes. Her mom is very embarrassed, trying to make excuses every time.
And I started taking my own utensils and dishes to picnics because I don’t like eating out of plastic. And I don’t care what people are thinking around me.
The luxury life is not about “Because you deserve it.” It’s about that thing being worthy of you. The cup your little sister gave you. Daddy’s T-shirt that makes it so cozy to fall asleep in. A pie from Mom’s recipe. The kiss of a loved one. Interesting books. Good movies. The very songs. Fresh linens. A clean apartment. The life you chose for yourself.
And yet, living a luxury life is not eating yourself up when something goes wrong. The tights may rip. The dough may not work. Friends may not want to watch your favorite movie. A loved one can leave. You may not get a promotion at work. Anything can happen. If you fail at something, it does not affect your value in any way. This means that things are just not going the way you want them to.
Living a luxury life means to have a choice. Mending torn tights or buying new ones. Throw away a pie and order sushi or try to bake a pie again. Watch a movie alone or go to a coffee shop with friends. Let go or fight. Look for a new job or reevaluate your goals at your old one.
A luxury life is living by your own rules. Going after your own goals. Not looking for excuses. Not being convenient. Not making excuses for your choices, your dreams, your interests. Saying, “You can’t do this to me.” And saying, “I can do that.”