True Luxury

Have you ever thought about what true luxury is all about? Do you think of stacks of Dollar bills, diamonds, gold, never ending funds, yachts, private jets, mansions, luxurious cars and all the expensive accessories usually linked to luxury?

I don’t.

When I think of luxury there is one thing that comes to my mind. It ones one specific moment with my Dad many years ago, I must have been about 13 or so. We were spending our summer holidays in Italy, living our own kind of luxurious life. We had dinner in a nice restaurant at the close by marina, which was then full of luxurious yachts of all types and sizes. Some with helipads on them, some apparently with entire clinics inside because the owner had heart issues. It was a showing off of their assets. In the marina but also during the day in the bay.

So that night, while my Dad and I strolled along all the boats he stopped in front of a beautiful sailing yacht. She truly was stunning. I knew right away that something was bothering him. He looked at me and told me how much he would love to give us even more, which was a surprise to me as I thought we already got whatever we needed and so much more. We got what we wanted. We were able to spend summer in Italy in a house that belonged to us. We had horses at home. So many things most of my friends did not have.

Then he looked at me and said:

“Although I would like to give you everything, I’m also not sure how good it is to give you all the things you have. I don’t know how good it is for you to see all of this, probably dreaming of living a life like theirs one day. I’m not sure if it is a healthy thing to see. I hope that you know and will always know that there is so much more than wealth. That there are so many things that are much more important than having a lot of money and buying things nobody needs. I hope that you will see what is truly important and that I’m blinding you in showing you this luxurious life.”

Then he gave me a big hug. I knew he was very emotional. I knew that his background was so different to the life we had. I knew he wanted to give us the moon. But in that moment he gave me so much more. He gave me an incredibly important advise.

Luxury is not about money. It’s not about possessions. It’s not about wealth.

Luxury is about family, friends, being healthy and living a good life, being the best you can be. It’s about kindness and love, support and belonging. I will do my very best to teach my children the same values.

Appreciate what you have. See the luxury in being healthy and happy. See the luxury of having food on your table and a roof above your head. See the luxury in having friends who are there for you when you need them. And see the luxury in your family with the unconditional love that you have for each other.