Do You Realize How Lucky You Are as You Have Easy Access to So Many Luxuries of Life? Here Are 15 of Them.
Wrapping yourself up in a feather jacket, and grabbing a coffee to go are certainly luxuries, but they’re not true luxuries. They’re fleeting and their memory is short-lived.
True luxury is not how trendy our shoes are, or how highlighted our hair is, it’s in the things that many people are denied access to, can’t afford or are banned from enjoying and today we look at 15 of them in 15 True Luxuries You’re Taking for Granted.
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Why read this boring article when you have the luxury of watching the video version of this text:
With that out of the way, let’s bounce back to the article.
1
Art
They say Earth without art is just “Eh” and we couldn’t agree more.
There are millions of reasons why art is important to mankind, and theimportantsite.com lists 10. Among those 10 reasons are:
· Art helps us build a fuller picture of history
· It is good for mental health
· Art is a universal form of communication
Whether it’s a drawing pinned on your fridge done by your toddler, or a bespoke piece that’s been in your family for decades, art is one of the true luxuries that many take for granted.
2
Music
Music itself is an art form, and while we may not all be able to hold a note, we seriously undervalue those that can.
A song comes on the radio, and it immediately transports you to a particular time and place. You hear a certain melody, and it reminds you of someone special… or not so special… but the role of music in our lives is an undeniable luxury.
Music can sooth a racing heart, offer healing to the hurt, encouragement, motivation, and just plain fun!
3
Community
By nature, we are community driven people. With the lean towards relying on technology, that sense of community is harder to come by.
Not many of us know our neighbours. We don’t know their names, what they do, what they enjoy – well perhaps we know they love Bon Jovi because we can hear it blasting through their walls, but that’s about it.
We take community for granted, and when you start to get to know your neighbours, you’ll realize what a luxury they really are.
4
A Warm Bed at Night
It’s no secret that homelessness is a major problem affecting many cities globally. In our video, 15 Reasons why money doesn’t solve homelessness, we mentioned a homeless survey done in San Francisco in 2019 which gave the following reasons as the main cause for homelessness: Job Loss, Drugs and alcohol, Eviction, and Mental Illness.
So, if you’re not roughing it up on the streets at night and you’re putting your head on a pillow with a blanket over yourself, that is a true luxury that not everybody has.
5
Vision
You wouldn’t be sitting there reading this article without it, yet we don’t really take time to consider how lucky we are to have it.
The World Health Organisation states that “Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment.” BBC claims that by 2050 global blindness is set to triple… that’s an increase from a current 36-million blind people to 115 million.
WHO says the leading causes of vision impairment or blindness are “uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts.”
So, just like you visit your dentist at least once a year, you should also ensure you give your eyes the same wellness check too.
6
Nature
Our days are busy, and we rush from point A to B, taking very little in from our environment.
The trees, wildflowers, birds, ladybirds and so on, all play a major role in our health and wellness. And taking the time to notice the subtle changes in our surroundings is very important.
Have you noticed the squirrels hoarding their food preparing for the winter? Or what about the birds collecting feathers preparing their nest for laying just before spring?
Nature is a luxury that we take for granted and by giving it the attention it so craves, will inspire you to live a cleaner, more holistic life as well.
7
Books
Opening up a book and taking a deep whiff of the pages is something that a lot of people do not have the luxury of doing.
Entering a library and running fingers across the spines of classics from the Mark Twain’s to the Emily Bronte’s is a feeling that not many will experience.
Certain books are banned or curated in many countries and reading is not encouraged.
Reading leads to learning, which means broader thinking and new ideas… and this is a luxury that shouldn’t be a luxury.
We encourage you to watch our video 15 Most VALUABLE Books You Can Read For Free, if you’re not able to get to a library, because these reads are going to really give you a new perspective on many avenues.
8
Choice
Imagine waking up in the morning and not being able to choose what you want to wear or what your hair looks like? Sure, you might be thinking you have a work uniform or school uniform to wear, but when you’re home – you can change into whatever casuals you like.
Take for example a story that took place in 2020 where a Chinese women’s football team were disqualified because too many players had dyed their hair, or where in several counties, it’s forbidden for women to wear trousers.
And those are just small examples, Aluxers.
The fact that we have such freedom of choice is a luxury we take for granted.
9
Self-Expression
Positive Psychology defines self-expression as “the action of expressing yourself.” This expression can come through in things like clothing or hair but also runs far deeper.
We use our words, our body, our facial expressions, our actions, movements, and interests – all to showcase our authentic self.
As Positive Psychology adds, “While those of us in the West have embraced individualistic norms and practices, including self-expression, other cultures have upheld collectivist values and—in some cases—placed little to no value on individualism. For instance, the Arab world is less prone to individualistic views and more likely to value tradition, religion, and authority.”
10
Medicine
Being able to go and see a doctor and get the correct medication we need to get better is a true luxury.
According to the World Health Organization, “An estimated two billion people have no access to essential medicines, effectively shutting them off from the benefits of advances in modern science and medicine.”
With close to 8-billion people in the world, that’s an insane figure to contemplate just how lucky we truly are.
11
Being Able to Call a Friend or Family Member
You hear your phone ringing, look at the caller ID and it’s your mom… again. You’re really not in the mood for speaking to her.
Now, imagine you no longer have a mom… or perhaps you don’t even have to imagine. What value would you have put on that caller ID popping through on your mobile?
We couldn’t even put a monetary figure on it, could we Aluxers?
If you can pick up the phone and chat to your parents, or a good friend and you know they are there for you – then you are exposed to a true luxury that many no longer have.
If you don’t want your friendships to end, check out 15 Reasons Why Friendships Fade Away.
12
Smell
Since Covid, many people have lost their ability to smell the ocean, a fresh cup of coffee or the scent of their S/O or children.
Without smell, so many beautiful moments are lost.
Not just the fact that you wouldn’t smell your food burning on the stove, but so many of our memories and associations are because of smell.
The Harvard Gazette quoted Harvard’s Venkatesh Murthy, “When you chew, molecules in the food, make their way back retro-nasally to your nasal epithelium,” meaning that essentially, “all of what you consider flavor is smell…”
Take a deep breath Aluxers, it’s a beautiful luxury.
13
Physical Contact
This is another luxury that too many people have gone without since the outbreak of Covid. The lack of physical contact is also called touch starved, and Health Online affirmed this by saying “During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are losing out on workplace handshakes, friendly hugs, or pats on the back, which can result in feelings of touch starvation.”
The benefits of touch include reducing social anxiety and stress, it boosts your immune system and lowers blood pressure and increases trust.
Without it, it’s very easy to slip into depression. If you have someone to hug, you have a luxury that many do not have.
14
Water
At least a billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Isn’t it crazy to think that a basic human necessity is denied to so many people?
And when we say water is a luxury, we’re not just referring to the clean water that we drink – we refer to the hot baths or showers we take on the daily, the swimming pool that we top up often, the hose pipe we use to water our garden and the water we use to wash our car.
That water usage is a luxury.
Remember the beautiful unknown saying that goes, “A drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold to a thirsty man.”
15
Time
Ahh, we never have enough of it, do we? And honestly, we all put things down to when we have more time… but is there ever a point in time when we have more time?
Rarely, Aluxers, rarely.
So, if you want to make use of the luxury of time, now is the time to do it.
Use your free time to reach out to your parents, to breathe in the fresh air, soak in nature, give someone a hug, read a book, take a walk through an art gallery and do something amazing in your community.
And with that, it’s time to ask you a question.
Question:
What do you think is a true luxury that we take for granted?
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