I witnessed a robbery last week.
A few days later the Police called me and asked me to come in and make a statement. So I did. And just like when I'm breathalysed completely sober, I started getting all weird and nervous, even though I wasn't in trouble. Anyway, the Policeman In Charge was lovely [beautifully gruff and old.school]. He made me feel not.nervous and we got chatting.
He asked my profession and when I told him, he replied: I went to a counsellor once.
Just like that he said it. And as he spoke, he looked over his shoulder, almost as though to check no-one else had heard. Before I had even had a chance to reply he carried on: other people call them Shrinks but me, I call them Expanders. They expand your mind and once you've seen that bigger picture, you never go back.
oh! Right there in that little room I almost crumbled with happiness. Touched by his openness, his willingness to share, his trust in the world.
Reminded that our experiences are so deeply shaped by the meanings we attach.
