A Different Kind of Luxury discussion

Hi there,
I've gotten some really intriguing feedback from readers about A Different Kind of Luxury. One reviewer said:

The book, for me, was a pleasure, but also a confrontation. After reading it, the words of Watanabe Gufu stayed with me: It's important to me to be someone who has time… There's a term we have in Japanese, furyu: the characters are 'wind' and 'flow.' Someone with furyu has time to write haiku, or can appreciate flowers, and they have space in their emotions to look at the moon or the stars. They're not too busy working or making money. Those people who don't have furyu are not full people.

I am one of those not-full people, and as such, this book made a strong impression on me. It taught me that the good life is possible, attainable not by “opting-out,” but by “opting-in” to a growing worldwide movement founded on peace, ecology, simplicity, and non-materialism. The feelings of luxury and inner abundance contained in this book are infectious. Having read it, I feel more ready to opt in.

So, I was wondering what you might have learned reading it. I answer questions, by the way, on the book's blog, http://differentkindofluxury.com

This book gave me a completely different view of Japan. I lived there for two years but didn't meet people like these. For example, you spoke of having time. Typical Japanese are even busier than Americans -- they don't even sleep adequately and as a result fall asleep on trains all the time. I found it hopeful that even in a country where there is so much conformity, there are people willing to live authentically. Hope for us, too, maybe??

As we make our way through life, we get guidance. The choices that eleven people made about what they could do to improve the quality and significance of their lives are set out in this book for you to consider. It will affect you deeply. Every time you read it, you will find some new insight into how you can change your life, for the better. When you are ready, a teacher appears.