Tahlia Suraj

Every now and then, I wonder about what the real luxuries of life are, just like everyone else. And when I do think about it or look it up, I find the answers too vague. What do you mean by “peace of mind”? Who is to define what that means to someone? How am I supposed to know what peace of mind means according to you? And how am I supposed to build something that has no fixed definition? So, I have contemplated this topic for a long time and based on my own experiences, I have concluded that the following five are the real luxuries of life.

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1. good health – physical and mental

Cliche, or you could even say too generic, but having good physical and mental health is a real luxury in life.

I have seen my dad suffer from cancer and I can tell from close personal observation that life is only hopeful when you have a healthy body to dream about it. Against the backdrop of a health problem, every other problem seems to be manageable, no matter how big it might seem. Our daily irritations, traffic problems, and relationship problems seem very insignificant against it.

So being healthy is a real luxury. But having good physical health while struggling mentally isn’t glamorous at all. It is just as agonising as a physical ailment. Every small task seems big. Every day feels long. The problem is that the magnitude of mental illness cannot be seen, so it is dismissed. But mental health is just as important. Without it, it’s hard to seek purpose and meaning in life.

So, having good physical and mental health is very important for a luxurious life.

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2. Freedom of choice

I know a lot of people say money isn’t the key to happiness, but I beg to differ. If money wasn’t necessarily the key to happiness, all those who didn’t have it should have been happier, but that isn’t the case at all.

The truth is, money buys comfort and gives you the freedom to choose, and both are extremely important for a happy mind. So, although money isn’t directly related to happiness, it is indirectly a precursor of it. It gives freedom of choice.

When you don’t have that freedom and you are dealt your cards, you play by the rules someone else lays down for you, and that’s not a great experience at all.

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3. Ease of life

I believe having ease of life is also a luxury. A hard life is often equated with virtue, as if that makes a person better. But the truth is, a person is defined by the choices they make and not by the circumstances.

A hard life doesn’t automatically make a person better and an easy life doesn’t necessarily make a person bad. It’s their own choices in individual circumstances that define a person. But in all seriousness, having an easy life is a real luxury. And choosing it doesn’t make one bad or idiotic. It just makes you smart.

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4. meaningful relationships

Human beings are inherently seeking connection. It is how we find meaning. In my opinion, if life is a canvas, relationships are the colours. They paint our story, and stories are evidence of a lived life. But meaningful relationships are rare to find.

For a large part of childhood, I craved them a lot. I didn’t have many great friends and I hoped I’d get one. When I finally made a good friend in my dental school, I was delighted. I had searched for it for so long. Given how rare meaningful relationships are, I would definitely term it a luxury.

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5. Accessibility to resources

Talent, ambition, and motivation aren’t scarce at all.

Talented people are everywhere. Ambitious people are everywhere. Motivated people are also everywhere. What isn’t so easy to find though are resources.

A lot of people have talent, unfortunately, not everyone has access to the resources that are required for them to exhibit those talents.

The good thing is that for the first time in history, the playing field has been levelled for everyone with the advent of the internet, but there are still people in this world who cannot access it—either because they don’t have the monetary resources or human resources to help build their dreams or because they don’t have freedom of choice. It sounds simple, but it makes a lot of difference.

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In the end, luxury isn’t quiet about the grandeur or even the vague “peace” that people often talk about. It is the ability to move through the world with a healthy body, the power to make your own choices, and the luck of having the right resources and people by your side. It is the ease that allows us to simply exist without every day feeling like an uphill battle. We might not always have all five at once, but recognizing them for what they are helps us build towards it one day at a time.