The Paradox of Luxury!

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“How good it would be if I were a pornstar”, my friend told me, “They get to fu#ck everyday; everyday a different girl—in exotic positions, stunning locations; damn lucky guys!”  For a moment I started imagining: yeah…how good!

When it comes to living a pleasurable life, different people may have different predilections. To some, pleasure may connote living in a glamorous bungalow overlooking a sea;  to others, riding a red Ferrari, or having sex with the most beautiful person in the world! 

Last weekend, while travelling by a train, I bought the latest lifestyle magazine from the platform stall. On the cover page, I saw a glamorous picture of a couple relaxing on the pristine beach, having their shots of tequila, bathing their bare skin under tropical sun, having a great time together. I thought how lucky they are! I wished I too could have all that fun—lounging naked by the beach with my super-model type girlfriend, having my shot of tequila! But Alas! Forget about girlfriend, my city does’t have a beach even!

In  sheer disappointment, I turned the page only to fall across another tempting (and distressing) chapter the magazine had to offer. It was a feature on “how to have a perfect honeymoon in Switzerland”! And guess what, the tour package was priced at INR 5, 66,000! For a grad-school student like me, who has to think about cutting out on expenses to save money for internet plans, going to Switzerland for Honeymoon with a yet-to-become ‘wife’ looked like a fuzzy dream! I turned pages after pages, looking at the luxuries which life has to offer, to those whom I felt are lucky. The journey ended with a sense of anguish caused due to the realization that I was not living a luxurious life.

I am sure you too must have been through such experiences. Everybody does. Even the richest person on the earth feels inferior in some ways or the other; he too feels that he’s not living a luxurious life. Do you know why? Because living a luxurious life is a paradox in itself! Anything that we wish for and we don’t have is luxury. For a beggar who’s spends his night sleeping on the railway platform, having a small hut can be called luxury. For a poor man who lives in a small hut, having a small concrete apartment can be much of a luxury. For someone who lives in a small apartment, having a big bungalow with a large swimming pool in the facade is luxury. 

Let’s take the case of my friend who wishes to be a pornstar. For a moment lets imagine you’re a porn star and you do get to fu#ck everyday--in exotic locations, positions or whatever. You love the way it gets you physically and emotionally high every time you engage in lustful sex.  While it does give you a momentary spurt of pleasure, the effects are fleeting. Psychology says that once the intoxicating effects of sex are gone, the super-ego somehow manages to speak to the heart and mind of the individual and acknowledges them of their loneliness and emptiness, arousing the feeling of guilt and shame.  In that case the individual feels lost, empty, degraded and alone. Besides that, when you think about having sex like a pornstars, it's no longer a luxury, but a necessity to keep the vocation alive. As I said earlier, anything that you already have is no longer a luxury.

So the bottom line is: The grass may  look greener on the other side of the lake; but it’s just an illusion. While it’s not bad to dream big and work towards achieving it, it’s also important to understand the significance of living inthe moment, that too with all that you’re blessed with.