My definition of luxury has always been owning a big house, buying the latest tech on the market, and affording fancy vacations and experiences. Isn’t it true that any of these, at any point in time, feels like an upgrade in our lives? With changing times, lifestyles have evolved, but the list has stayed the same. Only the scale of our expectations has grown with time and age.
One day, when I was thinking about the things I was missing, the list kept growing. And nothing from the list above popped into my mind. I was taken by surprise. All this time, I had been running after one of those, complaining, trying, and convincing myself that someday we could tick off our list of luxuries. But a calm mind told me a different story. The things I miss are what I call “modern luxuries.”
Distraction-free day
I can’t talk enough about a day without distractions. Social media, emails, messages, calls, shows, news, and the list goes on. Sometimes you volunteer to step out of this chaos, but today’s world depends on these so much that escaping them seems very difficult. We need some of them for work, connecting with people, finding jobs, and entertaining ourselves. It’s only when they go out of control that it gets overwhelming. Whenever I want to read, sing, or pursue a hobby, there’s always a disturbance, always something to attend to. Just the other day, I sat down to read, and a ping from my group about grades being published pulled me right out of it.
Motivation
Whether our day is packed or completely in our hands, motivation seems very limited. My understanding is that our competition in life has expanded so wide that my benchmarks are now both the known and the unknown. The known are the people around us, like friends and colleagues. The unknown are people on social media. We don’t know them personally, yet we still compare ourselves with them. In trying to achieve everything, I think we’re unable to focus on the things that really matter to us. Maybe that’s what’s draining my motivation? I have no idea. I’m experimenting with my life. I’m trying to disconnect from social media (I’m still on and off) and trying out new routines.
Unwinding
It took me a while to realize what I actually cherish. I love being able to unwind before sleep: a warm shower, reading a book or listening to music, spending time with my family, and slowly slipping into sleep. Those are the days I’ve had my best sleep scores. But with days packed with random schedules, commitments, and obligations, sticking to a slow life seems very difficult. The spin-off is a lack of routine, because if one link in our daily chain breaks, it feels like the entire routine is off.
No stress
As a kid, I didn’t know what stress meant. But as we grow up, stress seems to slowly creep in without us noticing. Or should I say, we’re exposed to it so often that we label even small disappointments, sadness, or tiredness as stress. I’m not sure we’re mindful these days when we call something stressful. Recently, I had a long weekend day packed with presentations, classes, shopping, and taking my parents out, and I got home late at night. I would have called that day stressful, but really, I was just tired. So it seems like we’re always stressed. Work timelines, news about the world, uncertainty about the future, and financial concerns all add up to make our lives stressful. Maybe giving milder labels to each of these could help?
This space turned into a big rant. But when I reflected on it, I genuinely think these are the things I would want to go back to.
It would be really nice if we could focus on real-life experiences: enjoying nature, taking long, mindless strolls around our neighbourhood, learning new skills, pursuing our hobbies, being physically active, and relaxing.
The mind of a kid, filled with energy, curiosity, and motivation – I miss that.
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