Category
purpose.
10 posts
Revelling in a heart attack
For he who lives more lives than oneMore deaths than one must die.Oscar Wilde – The Ballad of Reading Jail At the Virgin Active Gym on the corner of Main and Nichol, at 5.30 pm on Monday, 9 March 2015, I died. Ironically, it happened while I was getting into shape – it was a […]
28 April 2026
Live every day as if it were your last – one day you’ll be right
At 5:30 pm on Monday, 9 March 2015, at the Virgin Active gym on the corner of Main and Nicol, I died. I was on the step machine. The gym was alive with the usual after-work energy - a steady hum of movement and conversation. It was peak hour. Packed. Then, suddenly, I collapsed. As […]
20 March 2026
My BackABuddy campaign
In 2015, I went to the gym like any ordinary day. I didn’t come home. I had a heart attack and died on the gym floor. By sheer chance, a doctor was training nearby. He used a portable defibrillator to restart my heart and saved my life. Two years later, that same man took his […]
11 March 2026
Why I am interested in the topic of depression
In a previous life I did a year of psychology at Wits, while getting a BA degree. Yet I don’t remember a word of it. Nor did I learn anything I can recall benefitted me in dealing with life, post university. I am now writing a book on depression and am experiencing déjà vu as […]
27 September 2025
Victim of depression
Depression is a topic that could fill a library. It would therefore be presumptuous to assume I can solve any profound issues you might be having in one chapter. But what I can do is change your thinking to the point that you end up managing your ‘blues’ a lot better than you have been. […]
22 July 2025
It will be better tomorrow. The role of busyness in finding purpose
A quote from poet, writer, and essayist Maya Angelou provides much food for thought on the topic of depression: “No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” In my experience, having a purpose is one of the best ways of combatting depression. And […]
10 June 2025
Never forget the power of hope
In 2000 I had a stroke that paralysed the left side of my body, and what I remember most vividly after the shock of it all subsided is how I developed a craving for hope, which dwarfed any junkie’s craving for his next fix. I was worse than obsessed. As nurses, doctors, cleaners, ambulance operators […]
5 June 2025
Pursue your own purpose
“If you are going to have a purpose, make sure it is yours.” – Anon. This does smack of common sense and may seem obvious, yet it is easy to get caught up trying to be and act the way others expect us to. Too often, without thinking, we try to achieve our parents’ or […]
21 May 2025
The purpose panacea
Anyone who has listened to one of my talks on depression, will know I believe strongly in having a purpose to combat depression. Funny, but not many people disagree with me. As to whether they go off and find a purpose, is of course another question. However I have come up with my own question […]
23 April 2025
Finding a purpose in unexpected places
My new friend, Timmy, was a skilled glider pilot. We met at work. When I became friendly with him, I was in the process of getting divorced. On a Friday while having a beer at work he invited me to go gliding with him on the weekend. I told him I had the kids. “Bring […]
21 January 2025