Nature's Chic Tweak Versus Shopping

You see it on the Internet, you feel it in shops you may happen to stroll into at spring time. There's a certain tweak you can get, a certain vibe when good music is playing and some interesting and fresh designs are on display. At least as a trained designer I get this feeling sometimes. I believe part of the 'shopper's high' is tied to an inner need for freshness and stunning beauty.
 
I didn't spend a lot of time shopping until I got married. But I'm beginning to understand how shopping can be a substitute for the kind of freshness, beauty and stunning experiences found in nature. And I believe these feelings point to an even greater spiritual need and reality.

As I was just looking at some fresh photos of a tree in Japan and I realized that nature does in fact offer a real chic tweak of her own. There's a certain power and sense of awe when nature is in full bloom and in all her glory at the peak of spring. It's the same kinds of plants each year, but for some reason the images, scents and overall power can be just as stunning year after year. Imagine a fashion clothes line that offered the same kinds of clothes in the same colors year after year. It just wouldn't work.
 
If you can look at the linked photos of the wisteria tree at this linked article and not be in a sense of awe, well, I'd be surprised. It's considered the most beautiful wisteria tree in the world. Whether or not you consider yourself a 'nature person' you might get something out of the photos.

The photo, "Window shopping at Simpsons department store" is from 1937 and has an expired copyright.