Luxury-ess-

I'm naming myself, and you if you want, a Luxury-ess.  


Luxury-ess: A title belonging to one who is granted with every day luxuries.  One who easily leads a luxurious life; no matter where, no matter when, she is capable of seeing her life's luxuries by simply looking.


Purpose: Small changes and actions change a life from experiencing the ordinary to experiencing the extraordinary.  To consciously fine tune one's perspective so that the luxurious moments and tiny pleasures are more dominant in life than their counterpart.    


What exactly is a luxury, you ask?
According to the handy dictionary, it is: 
a condition of abundance or great ease and comfort :sumptuous
something adding to pleasure or comfort but not absolutely necessary
an indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction, or ease


I made all of that up of course, except for the definition of luxury.  It came from this idea I had way back, a couple of years ago.  I named myself a Luxury-ess.  Sort of like a Dutchess or a Countess or a Princess.  "If Fergie can do it, so can I", I thought.  And I made up my own title and put my hand on the top of my head, tapped it, and said "Granted!"  


Voila.  Simple.  Effective.  Magical.


And the fact that Luxurious and Luxury-ess sound exactly the same thrilled me.  How clever.


The idea is to notice luxuries you have already.  And, where the mind goes, you go... so get ready for a new and improved outlook to a life that will only get better and better each time you compound pleasantry on top of pleasantry.  Today, people are stuck in a thought pattern of have-not, of doom, of worsening conditions.  That's no good.  So, instead of thinking of "can't have, don't have, might not have, not enough of any and everything", or succumbing to the notion that "having and enjoying should make one feel guilty and suffering and doing without is a more honorable avenue for one to trudge along through life"... (It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?  But, it is fact that this mental pattern is ingrained in the minds of many human beings.)... INSTEAD, think "Sure, I deserve this moment of enjoying my life and being happy.  No, it doesn't mean that by me enjoying this aspect of my life, I should feel guilty because others go without.  In fact, when I take a moment to be grateful and feel the happiness of the simple luxury-filled moment, I magnify it world-wide and my happiness spreads like wild fire!  An epidemic of fast-spreading, contagious happiness... no vaccine available!


Little bits of happiness make big improvements in life's big picture... in this case, painting... oil painting... hell, why not just make that a Monet!  We deserve it.  Art.  Music.  Food.  Travel.  Knowledge.  Laughter.  Loved ones.  Comfort.  Luxuries, my friend.  Pure, undeniable luxuries.  You have them; now give them to you... let you enjoy them with concentrated appreciation.  Relish the experience of your life's many beautiful moments.


To start small- I'm pitching this one your way.


Today I ate a treasured and savory morsel. It created a divine sense of appreciation that took up a whole fifteen minutes.
Ingredients:
Pretty light blue, water-colored, Starbuck's coffee mug sketched with outlines of Orchids full of...
Caribou 'Mahogany' coffee brewed for me by my sweet husband
My favorite Silk French Vanilla Soy Creamer that I had to drive an hour and twenty minutes to purchase
Frothed.
Arte Italica salad plate holding...
Fresh Market, freshly-baked, huge, light, fluffy Croissant (Add extra fun to the moment by attempting to pronounce this word as the French do and with that French attitude!  Already you are fashionable and saucy just by adding this little detail.)       
Smother inside of croissant with...
Organic Apricot preserves
French imported Brie
Now, take a bite...


For extra intensity, listen to music such as the featured songs on Dave FM's Acoustic Sunrise and close your eyes as you let the bite melt in your mouth and pay. attention. to. what. you. taste.


My Luxury for this ninth day of the year 2011.
You are welcome to copy and reproduce as much as wanted.  I recommend it.


More to come... on a regular basis...