Luxury in our times

I was awake very early, just after 3 AM. No alarm. I rarely use an alarm. At the gym by 3:30. I took this photo of the sunrise at 4:15 AM. Then I went for a 6 km run and had a swim in the ocean to cool down. 

For some, this type of morning might sound like a mild horror story. But for me, it is heaven. I love the quiet. I adore the dawn. I need to move and be out in nature.

I think about luxury. Reverting to the online etymology dictionary, I was surprised to see that the origins of luxury meant sexual intercourse! Then, from Italian, luxus “excess, extravagance; magnificence, and Old French luxurie “debauchery, dissoluteness, lust”.

Not what I was expecting as I consider the luxury of my life.

Against the backdrop of hyper busy, endless striving, the hungry ghost, the manufactured desire for relevance, and for so many, the sheer effort just to stay above water, luxury is time.

Luxury is to be able to pause, to sit, to think. To sleep well and wake up without an alarm. To choose to move slowly, or fast. To have my kind of morning. It is also to stop scrolling, turn off the news and read a novel, watch a movie, walk the dog.

And to do all of this when the Molochian machine seeks to have us do otherwise.

Photo Taken December 13th 2024, Article written December 13th 2024