Luxury is defined as “the state of great comfort and extravagant living.” By all accounts, most Americans are living in luxury compared to our forefathers (and foremothers). Dishwashers, microwaves and washer/dryers have made our lives simpler and much easier than our ancestors. The fact that this is taken for granted is a shame.
If you watch any history documentary on how clothes were washed 100+ years ago, you’ll see it was a multi-day process. You’d have to lug the clothes down to a body of water, wash them (which took hours to do) and then hang dry them (which may take days). Anything else you wanted to do that day would’ve been consumed by the fact you had 5-10 garments that were dirty and needed washing.
Compare this to your average washing machine. You can wash your clothes in about an hour and dry them in the same amount of time or less. What once took days to accomplish can now be done for you in a matter of hours.
It’s this way with pretty much everything we enjoy in life. All of the appliances that have always been a part of our lives are now considered a burden when we have to use them. By understanding just how difficult something used to be, you’re able to fully grasp how easy your life has now become. Hence, you’re living in luxury.
I had a buddy of mine tell me about a time he visited Atlantis, a resort in the Bahamas. Although he enjoyed the resort, he mentioned how expensive everything was. He used an example of a Snickers bar he bought for his son. A standard, everyday item you’d find at a convenience story for a dollar or two in the U.S. was seven dollars at the resort. There was nothing different or better about it. It just so happened to be an item for purchase in a “luxury” setting.
I’m not saying you’d be living in luxury eating the same Snickers bar outside a Circle K; however, it’s all about perspective and mindset.
Another great example is a bottle of wine you’d purchase at a restaurant. My wife and I aren’t wine snobs in the least so we enjoy any of the brands you can buy at Harris Teeter or even Walmart (Meiomi and Josh come to mind).
Either of these brands purchased in a store will cost you around $15-20 depending on the day. Eat dinner at an upscale restaurant and that price will double if not triple. Is the wine any better? Does it taste different? Absolutely not. You’re paying more for the experience than the product.
This isn’t terrible necessarily. As I mentioned in my article last week, experiences can be great and you should be open to spending more for a special occasion. However, it’s important to redefine your notions of what is truly luxurious and whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze.
Cars are another great example of luxuries that we take for granted. The car itself is amazing in the fact it can get us from point A to point B on a daily basis. Couple this with all the gizmos and gadgets now offered and we’re definitely in the luxury category.
The fact you can purchase a Honda Civic with leather and Apple CarPlay is somewhat amazing. This was a car that was considered a standard econo-box just twenty years ago. Nowadays it’s wading into luxury car territory with all the features being offered.
The Civic isn’t alone. Pretty much any car you can buy now comes with a myriad of standard features that would’ve been upgrades not so long ago. All of this is taken for granted of course, the cost of a society so used to our luxuries that we overlook them in the hope of affording something bigger and better in the future.
This is no way to live. Don’t worry so much about what you want and focus on the things you already have. I can assure you, your great grandfather would’ve been fascinated by the ice machine in your refrigerator alone, to say nothing of the Ninja Espresso machine sitting on the counter or iPhone in your hand.
We’re all living in luxury.
We simply need to open our eyes, look around in amazement for our good fortune and be thankful.
