Message From The Editor
Deidre Loots
“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” – Walter Anderson
Last month, smack on my birthday, I faced my ultimate challenge – moving house. As a typical Virgo, obsessed with order, neatness and timeliness, ordinarily the chaos wrought by packing up and moving house would have been enough to push me over the edge into a world of blissful insanity. Unfortunately for us Virgos, such a blissful escape from reality is usually rendered impossible by our innate need (some may call it compulsion) to create order where there is none.
And so I simply did what comes naturally to me. With shoulders on the verge of spasm-induced revolt, I planned, scheduled, packed, loaded, checked and supervised myself out of a much-needed escape from a world of chaos. Of course I also created a failsafe backup in the form of a trusted Excel spreadsheet to stipulate the timing and order of the whole procedure. This was just in case I got carted off to the loony bin before I had completed my ultimate challenge and, heaven help me, have to leave it in the hands of those who count amongst the lesser zodiac star signs.
The good news, or bad news, depending on one’s perspective, is that I am slowly finding my equilibrium again, thanks mostly to the therapeutic effect of unpacking, arranging spaces and hanging paintings (with a laser level, of course).
Once all of this is done and I’m settled into my new home, I too may come to reflect on the deeper issue of change, or more precisely, on our fear of change. The one thing we know is that change, throughout our lives, is inevitable, much like death and taxes. The only choice we really have in the face of inevitable change is our own attitude towards it. As Viktor Frankl reminded us: “To choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way, it is this spiritual freedom – which cannot be taken away – that makes life meaningful and purposeful.”
And so I am reminded that even when it comes to moving house, the last of the human freedoms is nothing more than choice.
Now sit back, relax and enjoy the read. your choice, remember.