Finding First Class

Hot water streaming down my back with a lathered washcloth full of suds in my hands, I stood and inhaled deeply. As I let the water carry away my worries, the scent of ylang ylang filled my lungs.

That particular floral fragrance is said to be both erotic and narcotic~ I don’t know about all that, but the warm shower at the end of a long day certainly did make me feel warmer and melty-er than I’d been feeling before.

My mind began to wander along rabbit trails of philosophical things ~ abundance and scarcity, faith and safety, fear and anxiety and on to the concept of plenty.

It finally slowed down around there with the question of what makes a good life?

In particular, what would a First Class life look like?

That little seed had been planted by Denise DT of Lucky B. If you’re not familiar with her, she’s a sassy Australian who dives deeply into the concept of money mindset. She doesn’t so much talk budgets and investments, but deals with how thoughts about finances affect people and the life they live.

There’s actually quite a lot to it beyond the woo woo of feelings. I’m not opposed to woo woo, but there’s also actual consequences to the fears and self imposed limitations and expectations we have for ourselves.

On Denise’s suggestion, I sat down to evaluate things in my life, not just actual material things, but relationships, time, everything~ and rated them from Economy Class to First Class (with Premium and Business classes in between.)

It’s an interesting exercise, complete with surprises and I recommend trying some version of it for yourself.

The point isn’t necessarily just about the monetary cost of things, but how YOU personally *feel* about them.

It’s going to vary from person to person, but the main point is that it’s nice to not be surrounded by people and stuff that make you feel poor, victim-y, loser-ish or bad about yourself.

Going through my belongings and life, the rankings were all over the place, but it was really, really comforting to see how many areas I’ve moved up on the scale from where I was feeling a few years ago.

And, it’s been especially wonderful to realize that there are actually some areas in my life that feel legitimately First Class.

Like for real.

Coming from a working class background, it’s a strange and giddy thought to realize that I can actually have First Class things. It’s crazy and makes me smile just to think of it.

I mean, who woulda thought????

First and foremost, having First Class relationships feels HUGE, and is definitely the most important thing for me.

As far as “things,”  most of the tangible objects in my life that feel First Class are actually rather small in size.

But, when it comes to impact, they are mighty.

And that was the best part of this whole exercise for me~ noticing those tiny things around me that make my life feel quite nice.

Which brings me back to that delightful shower….

Perhaps the bathroom itself could use some cleaning help, and the razor needed replacing, but the soap I was using~ total luxury.

And I only came to know the loveliness of these products through some accidental lack of organization and a bit of encouragement.

The soap is handmade by a friend who makes wonderful soaps in a little cottage that I was lucky enough to stay in while between houses a few years ago.

I’d never been one to buy something like really nice soaps for myself. I’d buy good quality food for my family, sure. A reliable car, yes. Because those things seem like logical priorities.

But handmade soap seemed like some sort of luxury that just hadn’t entered into my mind as something I’d spend money on for myself.

Back when I had stayed in her cottage, there were awesome little sample bars of soap at every sink, which I loved using. Even though I wouldn’t yet buy them for myself then, I had decided to buy some as holiday gifts, happy to support my friends’ business, especially knowing the products were really nice, and the recipients would feel uber special when they used them.

Well, a few months later, I realized that I actually managed to forget about one gift package altogether because it was buried behind a pile of craftiness until well after the holidays.

When I found it, and debated what to do, my Partner encouraged me, as he always does and said “Treat Yo-self!”

Mostly because I was too lazy to try to deal with mailing it, and explaining my tardiness, I just kept the bar for myself.

Here’s the weird part...I had kind of a hard time actually being the one to mess up the whole big, perfect, beautiful bar by using it for the first time.

I mean, I know it’s soap and you’re supposed to use it, but it was brand new and so pretty and glittery and all decorative and swirly on the top. I hated to get it wet because I knew it would never look the same again.

But I did because I told myself it’s soap and it would be ridiculous not to use it~ like one of those things you read about old ladies who died never having used their wedding china in 50 years of marriage etc.

I have enough other quirky habits and collections my loved ones will have to deal with~ I wasn’t going to be the weird unused soap lady too, so I just stuck it under the water and lathered up.

And I freaking loved it.

It smelled yummy and lathered better than shaving cream and left my skin feeling smooth and soft. I don’t know what a million bucks feels like, but using that soap sure felt delicious.

Luxury comes in surprising places I guess~

With the soap, and far beyond, it’s made a huge difference to look at all the things in my life that feel prosperous. Every single time I think of one and say “Yay~ I can have nice things!” it's like I'm a little kid having some big revelation that brings me a great deal of delight.

It's a feeling worth sharing and spreading, so I encourage you to think about what makes you feel prosperous in your life?

Hopefully you’re not wearing old, stained up undies that would make you embarrassed to change in a public locker room, even though you could just go to the mall and get some new pretty ones.

And more than that, I hope your relationships and the people around you and places you spend your life aren’t making you feel icky and drained.

We all deserve to be happy.

If you think a nice bar of soap might you happy, check out my friend Nicole. Her handmade, all natural, earth friendly bath products are produced in small batches on her beautiful homestead that includes an olive orchard, flower, vegetable and herb gardens, fruit trees, and happy homeschooling kids.

I'd love to hear what makes you all feel prosperous~ so please share in the comments below, and if you enjoyed this, please give Zesty Mom a like and a share on Facebook as well!

Until next time~ Good luck finding first class in your life!  Who knows where it might turn up? Mine was in the shower. 
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