The Real Luxuries In Life

> The real luxury, for any age, in general, is in not having dependencies and needs.

Fewer. Everyone will always have some dependencies and needs.

Personally, I pity anyone who sees a desire to be loved as a weakness. That’s quite literally a lesson taught as a trope about being a good person vs an evil one.

I have to regularly travel to rural villages in Asia and the people that live in these places have only the most basic human desires. They barely know what an LLM is let alone interact with them. They're some of the happiest people I've ever met.

Of course they'll complain about work or money, and they assume that a Western salary buys me freedom. But they get to live through these luxuries on a daily basis. I'd be lucky to enjoy just one of these in any given week.

Nicely said.

Having dependencies or needs is one thing, having them managed for relative minimal impact on one's time might be another way to look at it for some.

Beautifully put, and definitely resonated with me as someone who entered mostly-contentedly-frugal retirement a few years back.

One thing you didn't mention is the need to feel useful in some way; would you consider that a weakness too? Is it covered by "rest without guilt"? It's the bit I still have some trouble with.

I agree with the gist what you're saying, like ditching the ego, the status chasing, etc. But dragging stuff like staying connected, being knowledgable, enjoying good food, and travel is where this goes a bit too far. A rock has zero dependencies, but nobody wants to be a rock.

I agree with some of what you listed here but a few I think are critical to being human. What's the point of not having needs?

Desires are what makes us human. I have kids and family and friends that love me and them in return but I don't believe that makes me weak. In fact it is the opposite, they give me the strength, confidence, and motivation to power through life.

I supoose not having any needs and desires would be an asset for a hitman.

I lived a short time in my 20s with friends a few blocks from my parents. When I returned to live with my parents for a short period the entire dynamic changed. You leave the house so you don't go to your room, you visit. I started talking more and listening to music with them. I really appreciated my parents more. I hope my relationship with my children will be the same.

this is nice to know as someone who is the adult child.

i used to argue a lot with my parents when i was still living with them, but ever since i moved out and we only see each other once every few months, our relationship has improved so much, and we're always happy to see each other in smaller doses

I never enjoyed spending time with my late parents. I only did so out of a sense of obligation. I have no children and have never really given that choice a second thought.

Its interesting that people value their relationship with their children so much and I assume its due to a deep sense of connection with them, they being "flesh and blood" but I've never given that any weight. I feel much more connected to people who have had similar life experiences and ideas to myself, and that could be anyone. I have quite a few relatives who I've never met or met once and do not see because they are nothing like me.

I suspect this is mostly due to being pretty far out on the pointy bits of various bell curves.

Health is a slope, but it makes things much easier. I've had health issues forever, but it's the kind that is fine until you suddenly start getting ill and the surgury and missing school/uni/work for 6 months which really screws things up.

I'd take that any day over getting rheumatoid arthritis, no matter how well managed it can be.

I would put love above health. Suppose you are perfectly healthy and even rich but have no friends to share anything with, life must be meaningless then.

As with many things, it's easier to stay healthy if you are wealthy.

You can buy personal training services, workout gear, a home in traffic-calmed neighborhoods where you aren't jogging or cycling along rural highways, a pool, etc.

You can buy fresh fruit and vegetables instead of highly-processed food. If you're American you can buy imported or certified organic meat instead of the hormone-filled shit on the shelves at grocery stores. You can spend less time working and more time cooking healthy, with no pressure to eat fast food because you're in a rush.

Money really does buy happiness.