The Life We Keep Putting Off

Why is it always about what we can't afford?

At a dinner table recently someone asked the question: what is luxury to you?

Everyone went around answering. Is it collecting expensive watches or branded bags? Being able to afford fine dining without worrying about the bill? Is it being able to fly first or business class instead of getting cramped in coach, sacrificing comfort for savings?

Nobody talked about time. Nobody talked about presence. Nobody talked about the freedom to be unhurried. To wake up without dread. To choose what deserves your attention today and quietly decline everything that doesn’t. To not sell your hours cheaply out of anxiety.

And I kept thinking about that on the drive home. Because if luxury is only ever about what we can consume, what we can own, what we can afford — then most of us will spend our whole lives feeling like we’re just short of it. Always one raise away. One promotion away. One good year away from finally feeling like we’ve arrived.

Luxury of presence is the most expensive thing in the world.…