Day Spa's & World Poverty

The lovely Mr D bought me a gift voucher for a treatment at a day spa recently, and I availed myself of this opportunity yesterday. Several things struck me as I lay there having my skin smoothed, polished, hydrated and generally pampered;

1.
Since when has frequenting day spas become the norm for the middle class masses? In my mind, spending several hours - or even just attending - a day spa was the reserve of wealthy women, with too much money and not enough to do. You know the types - the 'ladies who lunch' set who have nothing to do so fill their day's with spa and salon appointments; the type's who start philanthropic foundations. Lady McMahon comes to mind. So how did going to a day spa become something the middle class masses partipated in? Which brings me to my second point....

2.
While laying there doing essentially nothing, except for relaxing, it occured to me that the process of paying to do nothing is the ultimate form of commodification. At a day spa you are basically being sold an idea, or a state of mind. Sure, there are services involved, but most of that could be done at home yourself. No, the whole point of going to a day spa is to feel spoiled, indulged. Effectively you are paying to feel good about yourself - it's the commodification of self worth.

3.
My conscience was being somewhat of a miser yesterday, trying to ruin my indulgent experience by reminding me that while I lay there having a grand time, there are people who cannot afford to feed themselves, rendering the 'relaxing' element of the experience somewhat redundant. However inconvenient my conscience was, it did have a point. It seems almost obscene to spend what for some in the developing world would be over a years wage, on having a massage and a facial.

4.
In Australia, we have become so wealthy that going to a day spa and spending hundreds of dollars has become something the average person particpates in. But according to the World Bank, 80% of the worlds population lives on less than $10 a day. I think it's time I stopped defining rich as the person who lives in a big house on the water, and consider myself rich. Becasue the reality is I am. Most people in Australia are, when looked at from a global perspective.

Will I ever go back to a day spa? Probably. Will I enjoy it? Yes. Will I also feel guilty? Yes.