TIME FREEDOM IS THE GREATEST LUXURY

Keli H the author poses with her head tilted slightly to the side against a backdrop of silk, jewelry and pearls 

Today was a luxurious day. And not because of anything material.

I woke up with my body and mind feeling tired, so I was able to take an extra hour of sleep. I didn't need to worry about waking up at a certain time to be somewhere at a certain time. And yes, as I write this, I get what a privileged, somewhat disconnected thing it is to say. But that's the whole point of this post. Freedom of my time is the greatest luxury I have, far greater than any of the small material privileges I have.

I got to have a slow morning. There was no rushing out the door, no speeding along traffic-choked roads. I made a steaming, comforting cup of tea and curled up on the couch to read a book. A soapy Penny Vincenzi, it was. Goodness, those things are such a treat. I didn't need to force myself to eat, because I knew there would be time for it later - whenever I wanted.

Getting ready was not a functional affair, but another opulent experience in itself. There was time to try on different outfits, do my hair in different styles. To show up in the world as the best version of myself. 

It was the kind of day where I knew I wouldn't be able to give the best of myself to my clients if I sat down and forced myself to work. So I had the liberty of choosing to do things that inspired me instead, so I would be at my most creative when I returned to work mode. I took a walk to the pool and continued to read my book under the shade of a large umbrella.

When the wind grew too harried to continue sitting outside, I popped over to the restaurant. I ordered a milkshake, because why not? When I was done with that, I finally felt hungry. And so it was, that at that awkward time of morning between brunch and lunch I finally sat down to eat. I did not need to wait for permission to go for lunch, or to put a time limit on my food break. 

I was so grateful to have the kind of life where I didn't need to rush for anything.

When I eventually headed back home, I was still tired and generally worn out from life (because not every day is like this for me). I was glad to be able to put on a set of daytime pyjamas and go back to bed for an afternoon nap. I felt comfortable and well taken care with my satin eye mask and swaddle of blankets in the mild afternoon sun streaming through the window.

When I woke, there was still time enough in the day for me to do something productive. Still not feeling like I could give the best of myself to my clients, I decided to build myself up a bit more - this time by going to the gym. I spent thirty minutes doing an incline walk - it's one of my favourite exercises, perfect for building up endurance for tennis. I was so grateful to have time in my life to focus on my health.

Later this night I took to my book again. When I was ready, I put myself back in to bed again, from where I am now writing this. I know I will wake up feeling refreshed and energized tomorrow. This was a much needed break in routine.

I am grateful to have the kind of life where I am 100% in charge of my time and what I do with it. If I need a break in routine to refresh and re-inspire myself, I can take that break. And that, to me, is the greatest luxury of the life I have built for myself. It may not be filled with Gucci bags and Prada sunglasses (yet!), but it is filled with autonomy. Beyond cars and mansions and designer clothing, time freedom is the greatest luxury of all.

And on the note of having freedom to rest, there's a great Buddhist saying that my work team and I live by:

If you don't take a break when you need it, your body will take it for you. 

And here's a little note to myself, because I'm still going on the assumption no one has picked up this blog yet. Maybe no one ever will, and all of this will just be a great journal for me to look at one day. The side note is this: I felt great discomfort writing this blog post. Right from the first sentence. The whole thing just felt indulgent and unnecessarily opulent. Like whose day is realistically like this! The kind of life described in this post is so out of touch with daily reality. Jobs, kids, work stress, deadlines. I felt a little... guilty... writing about my ridiculous day. No work, nothing to do, no real responsibility other than to myself. I feel grateful and guilty at the same time. I want to show up to the world authentically, but it seems... I am afraid of people seeing me as unrelatable if I do.

For more articles written by Keli H, the author, visit this blog's home page on keli-h.com

 

Keli H is the award winning author of the 400 series, which includes The Four Hundred Club and Splitting an Empire. The 400 series is high brow contemporary fiction revolving around the lives of wealthy circles. Keli's other works include Creating Literary Art. She is also the founder of The KREST House, a storytelling empire.