The Joy Of Avoiding Luxury
Glen Brunke, December 27, 2024To enjoy life, don’t seek luxury. Luxury and comfort are traps.
Sure, they look like the answer. The promise of ease. The allure of more. A plush couch, a fancier car, a penthouse with a skyline view. But these things don’t free you. They chain you. And the chain is subtle, invisible even. It's not around your wrist; it’s around your choices. You think you’re climbing to the top, but the ladder you’re on only leads to more ladders. Eventually, you run out of new heights to reach. Ask anyone who’s been there—the few who’ve truly “made it”—and they’ll tell you. There’s a limit to what money can buy. Beyond that? It’s emptiness disguised as abundance.
The people who appear to have it all often long for what they’ve given up. They miss spontaneity, the ability to make a choice unburdened by obligation. They crave authenticity over opulence, intimacy over status, and meaningful moments over fleeting indulgences. It’s ironic, but the more you chase luxury, the more distant these treasures become.
Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor.
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
The real scarce resource isn’t money. It’s time.
Time is the great equalizer. It’s doled out without discrimination, a steady tick-tick-tick that no one can escape. And here’s the secret most people miss: the essence of your life is the sum total of how and where you spend your time.
Control over your time is the real prize. The ability to decide how you’ll spend your morning, your afternoon, your evening. To choose work that lights a fire in you. To be present with the people who matter. To step outside when the sun hits just right and breathe air that doesn’t come with a price tag.
Imagine your life as a ledger. On one side: things. The cars, the houses, the gadgets. On the other: moments. The conversations, the laughter, the quiet walks, the mornings you woke up and didn’t have to be anywhere. The side that wins? That’s the side that tells the truth about what you value.
Stop running on the treadmill of “more.” Step off. Look around. Ask yourself: what would my life look like if I designed it around time instead of things?
Time freedom isn’t just the absence of chains; it’s the presence of purpose. It’s not having nothing to do; it’s having the choice to do what matters most. When you live with intention, your time multiplies in value. A single hour spent on something meaningful can outweigh days spent in the pursuit of empty goals.
It’s not about rejecting success. It’s about redefining it. Success isn’t about reaching the top of a mountain only to find another peak ahead. It’s about learning to love the climb, the view from wherever you are, and the freedom to choose which mountain to scale.
On your deathbed, you would pay anything for one more ordinary evening. One more car ride to school with your child. One more hour on a park bench.
― Ryan Holiday