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| Tuesday, January 13, 2009 |
| Emperor’s New Robe |
Last night I just couldn’t sleep, so I explored some of the hundreds of channels my remote controls. Eventually I found myself in an on-line shopping universe I never knew existed. I discovered jewelry, make-up, clothing, cook-ware, and home-improvement gadgets that were all offering a newer, better, easier, ME.
I was so excited! I felt that my life had possibilities and opportunities I had never realized. I could imagine a whole new life altering existence. Instead of the same old weeknight routine, making a quick but healthy dinner at home, wearing my bathrobe, hair up in a ponytail and make-up removed, I’d be wearing many shades of make-up skillfully, yet naturally, applied while my guests wondered what my complexion secret was. I’d be removing years of wear from my face while posing for my company in a flattering new outfit, while creating tasty, no-calorie dinners, which would be ready in moments thanks to my new pots and pans. After dinner, glowing with compliments and confidence, I would clean my kitchen, mop my floor, remove my make-up, and refresh my hair and wardrobe with one flick of my wrist, and still be ready for work tomorrow.
Once you discover this cheerful, busy world, it’s really not hard to understand the passion 141 million shoppers feel for one channel, and 91 million share for the other ‘store’ that never closes. For four easy payments you too can have poise, peace, and catering skills delivered to your door.
This must be the thrill the Emperor experienced when he ordered new clothes, right up ‘til that one bad experience we all read about years ago. If you want to wrap yourself in the Emperor’s new clothes, and order space-saving, non-slip velour hangers in complimentary colors that keep your clothes from wrinkling, you’ll have a lot to look forward to!
When we read Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about that famous Emperor, most of us focus so much on the obvious like vanity and pressure to conform, that we miss the ‘other’ lessons. When the silly Emperor hears the crowds, he ‘feels’ the truth, and knows he is naked. “But he thought to himself, ‘Now I must bear up to the end’.” Then he behaves like an Emperor. He doesn’t turn around and run through the streets covering himself with his hands. He holds his head up high, and finishes the procession. This allows his Chamberlains to follow his example, and so “the Chamberlains walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train which did not exist.”
The Emperor hurt no one, and hopefully learned a much needed lesson or two about loyalty, trust, and shopping responsibly. They say he misspent his budget on clothes, but there was no mention of enemies, no threat of war, and his ‘subjects’ sound cheerful, content, well-adjusted, and reasonably supportive of their Emperor in the story.
Theoretically, it’s possible the Emperor suffered from an affliction, or addiction, to ‘retail therapy’, shopping to make yourself feel better. We might also say he found his own cure. The same one that H.K. Beecher studied 55 years ago when he interpreted studies which measured the Placebo Effect.
Translated from the Latin, Placebo means “I shall please.” “The placebo effect is the measurable, observable, or felt improvement in health or behavior not attributable to a medication or invasive treatment that has been administered.” Clearly, the crowd ‘observed’ and the Emperor ‘felt’ this cure.
Everyone needs a little retail therapy, or placebo, from time to time, and now we know where to find it. New pots, clothes, make-up, or Emperors’ robes might give you something to look forward to, and the confidence to cook a little better, dress a little nicer, or just feel happier, and the Emperor would be so pleased. He’d love the hangers.
Shop responsibly.
- Nancy
Labels: food for thought, Nancy, Stress Management
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posted by My Sensei @ Tuesday, January 13, 2009   |
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