Have any of you peeps in Phoenix noticed the abundance of butterflies and moths outside? The butterflies are quite beautiful and fun to watch. They are so graceful. They’re like little #fashionmavens with their vivid colors all on display. They run around like little children screaming and laughing because they can fly. It makes me happy to watch them, and I always stop and watch #butterflies.
The moths, not so much. They’re not as pretty or fun to watch. We tend to run or think of moths as ugly when we see them, but we need moths to pollinate flowers and help with seed production. Butterflies can’t help in that respect, so we’ll just have to appreciate the moth’s abundance as well while we watch the butterfly fashion show. After all, they too, are God’s creations.
Why am I talking about butterflies and moths? Because I wonder if any of you are noticing? It’s kind of hard not to, but we are living in the most stressful of times. I’m talking #superstressful times. Look around you. People are scowling without even realizing they’re doing it. Everyone is on edge because at every moment of every day we are being bombarded with news. And it’s mostly bad news. #News, news, news, all day long. We are all waiting for the next shoe to drop. Don’t deny it! I truly can’t stand it. I want to turn it all off and run away.
But running away is not going to solve anything. So, I did a funny thing a few months ago. I ordered a few #magazines. YES, magazines. When I was a young girl, I couldn’t wait for my #vogue or #harpersbazaar magazine to arrive. I knew very close to the day I would receive it in the mail, and if anyone, ANYONE, dared to touch that magazine’s crisp pages before me, I would literally have a breakdown. I’m not kidding. I would run to the #mailbox and get my magazine and sit down and read it. Front to back. It was the closest I was going to get to being in or at a #fashionshow or so I thought, but that’s an entirely different topic for another #blog. I would devour the pages and read each magazine numerous times over the month until the next magazine. I knew every designer, their style of down to the most minute detail. I could look at a piece of clothing and instantly tell you the designer, and I was very proud of that fact.
I paid a small fortune for my magazines, and I loved them. I loved nothing more than sitting around, no TV, no one to bother me, and pour through these magazines. And I had them all. In addition to the ones mentioned above there was #cosmopolitan #wwd #vanityfair #mademoiselle #glamour #italianvogue, the list goes on. I remember WWD as a beautiful, colorful newspaper full of fashion like none other. I kept some of them for months as they piled up in my room. My parents would come into my room and gasp at what they called a mess. A mess? Are you kidding me? These are my magazines that I paid for all by myself. I was so proud.
Ok, what’s the point to all of this? I received my #llbean catalog a few weeks ago and I had to laugh. (I’m sure you’re laughing, too. LLBean? Really??) I laughed because you know Fall has arrived once you receive your LL Bean catalog. I haven’t purchased anything from LL Bean in over 30 years and I live in Arizona now, not New England. Nevertheless, I sat down with no TV, no one to bother me, and flipped through the pages of their catalog. Then I flipped through the other two catalogs I had ordered and received. I sat there about an hour just flipping through the pages and stopping to read what interested me at that moment. I was #reading and #relaxing. I was getting ink on my fingers (I don’t care if that’s not healthy). I was taking a time out, and it was lovely. Just like it was the other day as I sat at my computer looking out the window watching the butterflies chasing one another. We need these moments. If we’re not on a computer or our phones, we’re watching TV, which is not relaxing either because all I watch is crime dramas, or some other sort of high stress drama! (A sidenote…. reading a magazine may not be the same as reading a novel when it comes to the #benefits of reading for the #brain. Reading a novel causes one to focus and concentrate and that’s a brain-building benefit of reading novels.)
I vow to order more magazines, and I encourage all of you to do the same. Not on your kindle or iPod either! It must be the real thing in your hands. Just think of the jobs you’re saving by keeping the magazine businesses alive. They don’t have to be fashion magazines. It can be #goodhousekeeping, #GQ #marthastewart #eatingwell #fitness #popularmechanics, you get the idea. It could even be your #neimanmarcus Christmas Catalog. Taking the time to sit and relax while you read will benefit your peace of mind and give yourself an hour at the very least. Go ahead, I give you permission to put the phone down. Leave the TV off. Be silent while you read. It will do you a world of good. Perhaps you can do it outside while the butterflies flit around you. It will bring you joy, release that scowl from your face and replace it with a #smile instead. I promise.
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