Luxury means peace

In these times of crisis, a vision for a new way of living is needed. The old ways have failed us, now let’s consider a better future for all.

There will probably be less luxury. This is not a bad thing. It’s not because luxury must always be avoided, but because a lot of the amenities that are considered ‘luxurious’ lead to greater poverty. And who wants to be poor all the time? Living in a way that leaves unusable trash in its wake is not a luxurious way of living. Taking from the earth without allowing that same earth to regenerate is not luxurious living. Being able to take life from any species in such a way that the natural world begins to howl in misery and rage, is not luxury. Instead, this way of living merely furthers the evil, it is a sign of weakness and carelessness. This implies that we will have to think about what luxury actually means.

True luxury lies in the ability to enjoy the abundance of what is around, now and in the future. This means a redefinition of what ‘the luxury life’ entails. I propose to envision ‘luxury’ as the perfect balance between a life in which little is needed and a life in which every possible joy can be found. Plus, of course, the Good Life consists of the possibility of actively furthering Joy for ourselves and to the benefit of others.

I think this can be summed up in one sentence that may serve as a guideline: ‘Covet what you need, and resist that which is no better than what you already have.’ This is another way of saying, ‘try to lead a life that leaves you free to experience the riches of your physical presence’. Life becomes more valuable when you feel that you are connected to the living world. Being surrounded by dead consumer goods while unable to get close to any living person, takes you away from that connection.

In case anyone missed it, The Faith of Eleima is as much spiritual as it is political.

The kind of luxury that we are taught to seek comes at great costs to others, and it is gained by violent means. Politics have at their core an evil ideology when they allow for luxury at the cost of slave labour, depletion of resources, as well as destruction of the land. The leaders and politicians that seek to defend this ideology inevitably resort to violence against the very people whose interests they purport to serve. This crisis is not different from anything we’ve seen before. This policy of material wealth at all costs brings with it bullets for all.

I believe achieving the kind of freedom we all long for, would in practice lead to a rather luxurious situation. The reason for that is that everything in nature instinctively strives for harmony, and people are no exception to that rule. ‘Harmony’ however, does not mean that all unpleasant things can be avoided at all times, it merely means that whatever lives and dies does no damage beyond the damage that is an inherent part of being alive.

We, the people, are not served by policies that defend the right to own anything at great cost and no joy to others. Neither does it do us any good to serve the ones that wish to legitimise this ownership, nor to enable enforcing this kind of possession. As things stand, we may not be able to meet the state and their henchmen with the kind of violence that they are able to bear upon us, but this does not mean that we have to defer to their every wish. From the simple rule of ‘cherish the good, avoid evil’ comes the notion that we have to cease to be a part of this all-consuming society insofar as we can. After all, the might of the powerful is built on the strength of people cooperating. The armies, the police, even the mindless consumers, they are all just poor people seduced into enacting or tolerating violence against other poor people. In essence, we have to see that we are fighting ourselves when participating in the protection of a luxury that is steeped in violence.

Luxury means peace. A mind that sees what is truly good while spurning what is merely pleasant-ish, is a peaceful mind.

What is truly good is the company of friends and lovers and a shared meal on the grass in front of a temple. So, when the time has come, instead of buying a new plasma t.v., I suggest we all go out and break bread with our friends.