A CURE FOR THE BLUES

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1638, 7 May 1925, Page 6

A CURE FOR THE BLUES

I have a friend who changes the arrangement of the furniture irr his house every year (writes a student of medicine in the Daily Chronicle). He is a doctor who works harder, perhaps, than any other man I ever knew. I confess that I was very much surprised when he told me recently that he believes part of the secret of his energy lies in these annual removals.

His idea is' that surroundings to which one has grown accustomed exercise no influence. They induce a sense of monotony, even of depressi n. Thus other people’s are apt to seem more attractive than our own. But with the change comes an awakening of interest and even oif enthusiasm. In a “new” environment we realise a new side of our natures. We see our own possessions in a new light, and that revelation enables us to extend our vision to the world lying beyond Thus both work and play become,

suddenly, 'more interesting. A similar effect is produced'when a man puts off his ordinary clothes and dons evening dress. iHe is never quite the same individual in these garments as in his working gear.

If he goes further and arrays himself in fancy dress he may almost fail to recognise himself. Who has not gasped at the antics of a sober companion posing for the night as a clown or pierrot? The truth would seem that most of us are content to “live in oneroom houses.” All the other “rooms” of our spirits are kept lockedup, shuttered and empty, or are opened only on high days and holidays.