Just keep swimming...

One of my favourite kids films is the wonderfully animated and deeply wise 'Finding Nemo'. If you haven't seen it you're in for a treat; if you have, I recommend repeat viewings. There's quotes in there for every situation: parenting, loss, love, fear, hope, and finding your way back to the ocean (all drains lead to the sea). I particularly love Dory, the little fish with short-term memory issues and all sorts of hang-ups who still manages to be the most hopeful of all the characters. She's also the one who thinks she can speak whale... anyway,Dory's motto in life is 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming...' and it's at times when things are crashing round my ears like last week that I find myself chanting that under my breath. Stopping to think about the mechanics of it all would probably result in drowning. Better to just keep swimming.

This week kicked off pretty well, with Cafe Church yesterday on 'Hospitality'. I had chance to use a quote that stayed with me from this year's Greenbelt: 'What most people are looking for in life is a safe space where they can tell their story' (Mark Yaconelli). Of course we were thinking of this in the context of church, but I've also found myself thinking about its relevance within the context of my work life. I run a nurse advice clinic for patients with long-term complex psoriasis and eczema, with all the attendant physical and psychological problems, and have the luxury of spending an hour intially with each patient. When I've had a bit of a holiday, I think I'll spend a bit of time thinking about how to create a 'safe space' that encourages these people to tell their stories. A bit less advice from me, and a bit more from them...