all or nothing

Indecision! That can be a problem. Choice making. We Librans have been known to take our time. And still get things unbelievably wrong. Or right.

That early morning cup of coffee. I’m an early riser, but at half seven I make two cups, one for me and one for upstairs. I take mine black, drink it at the kitchen bar, while she takes hers white, sitting up in bed with a book. I have a chequerboard patterned mug, while hers is tall and elegant with a single poppy climbing high. Quite a difference you’d think. So, how come, every morning I find myself half way up the stairs with my mug, while hers is back there on the breakfast bar?

It’s a Libra thing! It’s the indecision bit!

But it’s not all bad. Romantic? Well, I was once upon a time. I have three Scorpio children. Valentine’s Day has a lot to answer for!

Creative? Yep, the cogs in my brain are constantly grinding, turning, and pouring out schemes and dreams.

The symbol of Libra is a set of perfectly balanced scales. There are times when I feel that way - perfectly balanced. But it takes so little to tip the scales and send me off spiralling down another madcap route. That unknown path can sometimes turn out to be the most phenomenal journey, and, as a Libran I will throw my heart and soul into what may lie at the end of that journey, often for all the wrong reasons. If it’s a relationship - they’ll get the whole of me - unabridged, uncensored, unconditional. If it’s business, I let far too much slip out, I give too much away. We Librans are not known for our poker faces!

But I try to be kind and fair. I can appreciate the other persons point of view even if I do not subscribe to it. And, I’ll let them have their head while I quietly work out my part behind the scenes and with the minimum of fuss.

One of my recurring mantras is the concept of ‘having a reason to be in the room’. If I have that reason, then I can be the life and soul of the party, but if I have the slightest inkling that, maybe I shouldn’t be somewhere, then I clam up and sit quietly at the back of the room. And that leads to another common Libra trait - the ‘all or nothing’ syndrome.

An example. We really don’t need to buy potatoes today. We have a handful in the store cupboard. That’s enough until at least the day after tomorrow. That is, until I see the giant bargain bag of King Edwards at the grocery store that is simply too good to miss. And that’s how we end up with forty kilos of spuds that will feed a family of four for the next fortnight. All or nothing!

I don’t smoke, but I did - briefly. So, from the first puff I was on to thirty a day - Sobranie Cocktail in their chic black box and dark coffee flavours in day-glo papers. I don’t drink, but leave a bottle of Southern Comfort within reach and it will have to be completely drained.

It’s another Libra thing…

Art? Poetry? Music? Now that’s what I’m all about! The smallest nuance of light upon a leaf, or the brutalist industrial architecture against a deep blue sky, an emotional couplet in an overheard sonnet, a sudden chord change in a new found song. These things are enough to bring me close to tears. And often do.

My head is a tangle of thoughts. I’m a workaholic creative who goes big or not at all. A loyal friend if you get who I am. But I refuse to suffer fools - gladly or any other way. But then again, I love fools! Those who go out on a limb. The eccentrics, the existentialists, the bizarre, the unhinged. ‘Your Song’ or ‘Strawberry Fields’? Constable or Mondrian? Gap or Chanel?

So, this is from the heart. A Libran heart! I cannot even contemplate being any other sign. I’m comfortable in my astrological skin. And I’ll live with my madcap indecision, my life on the edge of a precipice, my peacemaking and order and chaos.

In conclusion I will state once and for all…

My name is David Philip Ireland.

I am a Librarian.

Apologies - that’s spellchecker making my choices for me…

I am a Libran!