I think much of my life is an illusion of luxury. For example:
1- Sand: I grew up on the beaches of Southern California. I know beaches and I know the sand of beaches. I always found it odd I would go to the beach and sit in the sand and say I spent the day at the beach. I now ask myself, Did I just spend my time sitting in sand?
2- Water: I grew up around pool water. Water was a really big selling point for me. I would say, I really need to have a pool. But like a lawn, pools usually go largely unused. Only occasionally are they used if you have kids or you invite guests over. Otherwise, many times I would merely sit around my pool staring at it. I usually wasn’t excited about getting in a pool that was cold. That first shock began to be something I avoided.
3- Planes: If I never get into another plane in my life, it’ll be too soon. No matter how comfortable they make flying, it was never comfortable enough. And it was boring. At times, I caught myself simply staring at the seat pocket in front of me. I feel sorry for the first humans who fly to Mars.
4- Hotels: After three days, five star hotels are like three star hotels.
5- Views: I own a home with a view. After a short while I forget I have a view. Just think, I pay a lot of hard earned money for a view I keep forgetting I have.
At breakfast this morning, my wife said, “Those illusions of yours were once your visions. You’ve just changed the first two letters of visions and added four letters to create illusions. Plus the first three letters of illusions spell “ill”. “
I think she just warned me about becoming cynical in my old age. But I said, “Sand is still just sand.” However, she countered by saying, “On a beach, sand is complemented by an ocean.”