Luxury as Time
“Most of us have no sympathy with the rich idler who spends his life in pleasure without ever doing any work. But even he fulfills a function in the life of the social organism. He sets an example of luxury that awakens in the multitude a consciousness of new needs and gives industry the incentive to fulfill them.”
Rolex Air King, looks good for having logged over 2500 days of wear!
Time is the only real luxury. When I buy an item or an experience, I'm essentially paying for time. Whether it be time spent learning or perfecting a craft, or the time it took to manufacture the item or the time to grow or make the components. Green bell peppers are cheaper than red, because they aren't ripe and there's a faster turnover. I don't eat green bell peppers, they aren't ripe! I could make an amazing hand crafted watch. But I would have to learn how to mine, mold metal, and take several lessons in horology. I don't want to do that, but I still want a quality watch. So I outsource. I trade my time to someone else for, in most cases, money. Then I trade the money I received to someone else for their time. That can be applied to nearly every purchase I make. As I grow and learn, I invest time in my life and perfect better the things I put my attention to, making my time more valuable. And as I grow I have less time, also increasing its value. Baby cashmere has a greater value because it can only be collected once in a goat's lifetime, and is only a limited supply. With no time, there is no luxury. I think there's an unlimited amount of money (according to the Federal Reserve there is), so it's in my favor to look to others who have put in the time to understand the things I have yet to understand.
Unless you're Eckhart Tolle, which would mean, according to the transitive property, that luxury is an illusion. I have to agree with him, luxury is just as illusory as time. Being present in the moment is the ultimate luxury, supersedes time, and can't be bought. Luxury is not about having stuff, it's about having time. When you're totally in the moment, there is no time. When I'm doing something I love, and am totally in the flow, I can accomplish so much in so little time, or totally get lost in the day and feel like it passed in the blink of an eye. But if you're having fun it doesn't matter, there's no better way to spend time than doing things you enjoy.
Back to materialism for a second, because I want to connect my watch to luxury and to time. It was a gift for my 18th birthday. And you know what they say about gifts, turning down a gift is denying yourself love. I've worn it every day since I got it, except that one time the pin fell out of the band. That means it's spent 2,529 days on my wrist. I swim with it, I shower with it, I change my oil with it, rock climb. And it's still going strong! I have only spent one day without it. To me, that's a form of luxury. It's able to withstand the test of time, and 20w50. It also serves as a representation of my parents, the gift givers. I look at it, and am reminded about all that they've done for me.
Every once in a while I'm questioned why I would want metal strapped around my wrist. Believe it or not, it's not because I want to know what time it is. If I wanted to know the time, I would not look at a Rolex (that picture was actually taken at 6:12). I think generally those that ask, think that it harnesses energy on my wrist that I might not want. One woman said how she can't wear her watch because it makes her feel terrible. I'm thinking, why do you have such a negative association with your watch? I have more say than my watch, and I say it only harnesses the things I want! While it may look like a piece of 904L stainless steel strapped to my wrist, it's much more than that. It's filled with gold nuts (maybe even sprouted?), and gemstones like rubies, sapphires and diamonds. They are not there to make the watch expensive, they're there because they serve a purpose. They are more durable than metal, and significantly reduce friction, increasing the lifespan. So sitting on my wrist is hundreds of years of watch development, using traditional and modern technologies, made with the best ingredients. I know people that carry crystals in their pocket. I carry them on my wrist.
Thank you for reading!