Port Elizabeth
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| Moving and Grooving |
| Columns - Flow - Life in Motion | ||||||||||||
| Dr Carina van der Walt | ||||||||||||
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I wish moving was like pitching an ultra modern tent for a two day outing. There is a childlike enjoyment in popping the springy poles straight, and I love being able to pitch, deflate and bag a camp in 10 minutes before heading back home. Another more attractive alternative is to move into one of Cape Town’s luxurious hotels, while waiting for a moving company to do all the schlep and non-repairable bumping and breaking of all touchable things dear to you. Imagine one of Sol Kerzners’ six star One &Only Cape town suites with the Government responsible for the account! Mr Kerzner leads me to have visions of luxury when he mentions in House and Leisure (June 2009) that two private islands and a spa are linked to the comforts of the hotel. I would be able to splash on one of those islands in a myriad bubbles, with my eyes on Table Mountain, with no thought to spare on directing men in blue overalls like a demented conductor in a haywire orchestra, trying to get the 10 year old fridge and boring appliances shuffled inside the new house. There would be no thoughts of the reshuffling that would inevitably take place at a later stage when you have regained your sense of aesthetics and practicality. Its now a year since I have moved and some stuff and painting are still in boxes and unwrapped. The worst and more realistic scenario would be to do all the moving by oneself while amused neighbours watch from the balcony or their braai next door. How amazed they would be to see the double bed (called the Viking because it resembles a whale of a Viking ship) launched two stories high, with the lounge suit and television to follow. It is not only moving in that’s so hard. It’s hard to get your groove back. That’s to say if you had any groove or liked to be in a rut before the move. Moving might be challenging on different levels of one’s life as Patricia Hughes in “The Perils of Packing” reflects:” …We pack away our very lives in all those boxes and cartons… Real living re-occurs only after we are unpacked and at home..” I myself have found that unpacking and being at home in a new home is not always a natural and easy process, but takes place on a physical, emotional, spiritual and relational level. It also takes time. When I had to drive through Westering one misty August morning after our move to Port Elizabeth, I lost my direction completely and my inner compass lost its groove. North became East, East became South and I became utterly confused. Symbolically my being lost that day reflected my need for a new vision and direction on all different levels of my life. Preparing an annual vision board helps to define ones’ vision and the setting of goals. A friend of mine mentioned that she sticks her 4A- cardboard behind the front mirror in her car and she has already obtained 60% of the items on her board. This year I have done a collage with cuttings from magazines and I look forward to reach some fresh and attainable goals. On a physical level one has to orientate oneself to new surroundings which one might love from day one or might need time to get used to. I have found that it helps to venture out and do as much exploring as possible. It helps to locate a place or route that makes one feel at peace and allows for rejuvenation and relaxation when the adjustment to new things just becomes overwhelming. When we arrived in Port Elizabeth we made effort to explore the city and its surroundings on a weekly base. To my utter surprise and disappointment we only discovered a beautiful part of Port Elizabeth where one can hike and “foefie” slide in a farm dam near the St Alban’s Prison and next to the Landela camping site, five years later. We also discovered the beauty of a piece of Maitland Mines where one can hike, drive a 4 by 4 and sleep in a hidden rustic but quaint hut. Sometimes on an emotional level might find it hard to let go of the feeling of stability a previous home provided. I have found rituals to make one feel at home in the new home and environment to be very important in the first three to six months after the move. Decorating the house with paintings, personal items and fresh flowers from the garden, as well as lighting candles enhanced the feeling of homecoming. I also think that we underestimate the celebration or “dak-nat-maak” of new homes that we so often allow for first homeowners. Spiritually one also might need a homecoming. Awareness of one’s vision, goals and needs are essential in the exploration of new possibilities. I have found that fearless exploration and attending events which are in common with your vision opens up possibilities one has never even considered possible. Attending one of these events might lead to new and alternative journeys and relationships in life. Although networking with people one might meet at work helps to create a new circle of friends, being open to meet new potential friends unexpectedly and at unexpected places might start of a lifelong friendship. At the end it is about opening up oneself to experience change in your life and embracing it on all the levels of your life! At the same time one needs to remember, nourish and cherish worthy relationships of the previous groove. As Kahlil Gibran ponders, ”When you part from your friend, you grieve not; For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.” In finding a new groove, I add some questions for reflection:
Sources: House and Leisure, June 2009 Kahlil Gibran: The Prophet Maitland Mines: EL Naude, 082 903 2866 Patricia Linderman, 2002: The perils of Packing.
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Random Shorts
“Hi, im from a little town called basingstoke in england and i have a friend working with me that is from port elizabeth. He is due to come back home in may 2006 and can i just say that i totally see why! your town looks lovely and refreshing!”
-Charlotte
-Charlotte