Luxury is a state of mind.

Hold on to your butts, we’re about to get philosophical here.

Dappered covers stuff.  Lots of stuff.  But stuff isn’t the end.  It can be a means to the end, but it’s not the end.  Here’s what that means:

It’s a beautiful warm day.  You put on a favorite outfit, decide to take a long lunch, grab a bite with a date, and enjoy a glass or two of wine along side a fresh, uncomplicated meal before heading back to tackle whatever the afternoon has in store for you.

It doesn’t matter if your outfit cost $7,500 or $75.  It doesn’t matter if you’re hopping a private jet to Marseille or riding your bike to the park down the street.  That Pinot Grigio can cost $500, or it can cost $6.50.  What’s key is that you’re taking the time to actually enjoy life, instead of always plugging along steadily towards some foggy goal that doesn’t pay off in the end.

It’s about choices.

We’re so damn busy, that hardly any of us have time to ask this simple question:  “What do I want?”

So stop.  Stop what you’re doing and answer.  If you’re so busy that you can’t stop what you’re doing at this instant (totally possible) to answer that simple, yet big, question, stop for just long enough to schedule 15 minutes in the near future to do so.  Get by yourself somewhere that’s free of noise.  Just you and a pen and a piece of paper.  Don’t think too hard about it.  Answer the question.

What do I want?

From the shallow and material (I want this kind of watch on my wrist) to the deep and meaningful (I want to be completely comfortable in my own skin), write it down.  All of it.

Then look at it.  Are you moving towards that?  Or are you fulfilling bogus, mythical obligations to societal stereotypes and/or peer pressures from family and friends?

The price tag on luxury isn’t listed in dollars and cents.  The cost is making smart decisions and having a tiny bit of guts.  Luxury is what happens when you get to a place where you call your shots. You might work for someone else, you might be responsible for others, but you still have the ability to hit the all-stop and smell the roses.  Self grown, cheap grocery store, or pricey florist bought roses… it doesn’t matter how much they cost in the end.  Just stop and smell them.

Because you sure can’t smell them when you’re pushing up daises.