Through the years I have come to the conclusion that luxury is a state of mind. It is not the material wealth in your life, it is not how much you have or how much it costs, and it is not power.

True luxury is about letting go.

There is nothing more luxurious than presence. Living in the now and with the awareness that allows us to enjoy all the moments that make up our daily life. When eating, our food is satisfying, when bathing we are grateful for the water and the salves and soaps we have chosen to cleanse our body with, when driving marveling at the amazing ability to transport ourselves quickly and with comfort, everything around us can be imbued with luxury if we so desire. As time goes by, my personal sense of luxury has become simpler. The theory of more is more, is gone for me.

Maybe the greatest luxury for me now is time and then quiet, two things that traditionally cannot be purchased. The more I am around what society deems as luxurious, the more I want to get away. The more I want to divest. The glamorization of excess has made luxury in the traditional sense unpalatable. I see people every day, considered by most to be rich…really rich. And I sadly observe how poor they really are. They are unhappy, they are insecure, and they are never satisfied.

What is luxury for you? For me it is…

A single flower, a piece of crusty bread with salted butter, sea salt, a piece of music that transports my spirit, feeding Fred (BuDhaKitty), hugging Sloane, seeing what Charlie is cooking, helping my mother, and at the end of the day having a cocktail with my husband…is the greatest luxury.