Dear Friend,

Warm winter greetings from snowy Colorado. Welcome back to Sip of Soup, my free bi-monthly E-sip offering a taste of insight and lessons to help you keep caring while living a more balanced life. ~ LeAnn

Sip of Soup - January/February 2005

Positivity TM Power Last month I attended a National Speakers Association writing and speaking workshop in Cancun. (I know, I know, a tough place to play, err, I mean, stay.) On a free afternoon, I went to a marina where I was able to touch a stingray, a turtle…and a shark! Not just any shark, the guide explained, but a nurse shark. Nurse?? Why would they name a vicious, man-eating creature “nurse?” The guide must have felt my feathers ruffling as he explained. “Most sharks take water in through their gills to move and propel themselves. Nurse sharks are one of the few species that do not require this and therefore they can lie sluggishly on the bottom of the ocean. When sharks and other ocean-living creatures are injured or ill, they descend to the bottom to die. The nurse shark swims under them and lifts them up to the surface where they can breathe and live again.” By now I was beaming with pride for my “fellow nurse” sharks and my buttons popped when he pointed to the dolphins in an adjacent tank. He told how one of the three did not adapt well during the transition from the ocean to the tank. In spite of all efforts from the expert staff, the dolphin sank repeatedly to the bottom. The nurse shark swam under it and lifted it over and over again until it recovered and swam playfully with the others. “Isn’t that just like a nurse,” I said as I pet my new fish-friend affectionately.

Lessons from LeAnn Nurses “lift” patients and families every day. Yet we can do more. Many of you have heard me pontificate (remember, that’s my nice word for nag!) about how we need to mentor and care for each other. By “lifting” each other, we can help one another, help ease the nursing shortage, and positively improve the care for patients—and isn’t that what we’re all about? For an inspirational true story from Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul, about “lifting” each other, click here Nurse's Soul Story

Soup for the Day; a healthy quote: It is truly one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. - William Shakespeare

A Sip of Soup is written by LeAnn Thieman; nurse, professional speaker and co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul and her latest book Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul. To have her inspire your team members, or to order her books, contact LeAnn at 1-877-THIEMAN or www.LeAnnThieman.com.