Magazine Musings...yeah, I'm really no good at titles.

Yesterday evening, I was thumbing through a stack of Woman's World magazines that I acquired from my mother-in-law. I don't know if you've ever looked through one of these, but they are nothing like Cosmo or Glamour. This magazine is written for a real person who lives a regular, real life. Nothing fancy. No articles relating to sexual conquests or mishaps. No celebrity sightings and fashion faux pas. No glossy, beautiful pictures of women who can't possibly be human. The back cover advertises Riders jeans by Lee. Enough said.

What you will find within its economically printed pages ($1.79, heck yeah) are articles and recipes geared towards staying healthy, looking younger, and above all, feeling happy about yourself and boosting your mood! There are of course shopping suggestions as well as book and movie previews. There are even home decorating and organization tips. But what I really enjoy about this budget magazine are several of the regular columns that run. One column, My Guardian Angel, is one in which readers submit experiences in which they swear to have encountered an angel. Whether you believe in angels or not, the stories always involve a stranger helping in a time of need, and they are very uplifting. Similarly, my two other favorite columns are entitled Circle of Kindness and Doing Good, which tell about an individual or group who have made a difference in the world through their kindness and unselfish actions.

Reading articles such as these makes me feel better about the world and inspires me to be a better person. I would say I'm a pretty nice gal, and I really do try to help others whenever I can. When I do something nice for someone, I feel better about myself which makes me feel happy to be me. And we all know that when we feel happy inside, it shows on the outside. Happiness makes your beauty glow! What an ideal natural remedy to the beauty blahs. Be nice. I wish everything were so easy.

So back to the magazine. I'm not saying I don't enjoy the others that are out there. I absolutely love those raunchy and explicit articles about bedroom mishaps and how to be a better lover (umm, not that I need them, ha ha). The make-up tips are great and the fashion is inspiring. But Woman's World, well, it just makes me feel good. It's a good fit for me and doesn't give me that slight feeling of inadequacy that some other magazines often do.

On a side note, I came across a great "assignment" that I would love for us all to work on! Written on the sidebar of a page out of Women's World, was a snippet about ways to help boost one's mood. The author suggested keeping a compliment journal. It is exactly what it sounds like. Keep a running list of all of the compliments that people bestow upon you. Then, whenever you're feeling down in the dumps (or not :}), you just open it up and read about how awesome other people think you are! Isn't it just perfectly narcissistic and wonderful?! I'm so excited to start! So the first thing I'm going to do, and I challenge you to do the same, is to go out and buy a beautiful journal to house the beautiful compliments that we are all going to get! Hmmm...make that a large journal. Maybe two. I need to be prepared... :)