A day in the life of a Chaplain

This has been strange time for me as I have not been out and about seeing and talking to people as I usually do. However, technology has come into its own and I have been talking and seeing people via Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. All that changes very soon and I will be meeting more people at the end of this month, in the meanwhile I have to finish all the jobs around house I have started!

One thing that strikes me since spending more time at home is just how miserable our news programmes are on the TV and radio. I can remember a time when we got the news first thing in the morning, at lunch time and at 6pm in the evening. Now it is every hour on every channel and even 24hrs constant news. This surely is no good for anyone.

Yes, we need to be fully informed especially during this pandemic but we don't need such blanket coverage, after all we are not able on our own to alter the outcome of events as they occur each day. I am sure that this constant bombardment of what is mainly bad news is not good for our mental health.

When I meet people, who are depressed or down about the world situation the first thing I suggest is that they stop watching or listening to the news so much. Another thing that you can do which I do myself is to watch some different news channels from different places in the world (such as the American CNN and Euronews etc) which often give a different slant on things and helps puts our own home news into perspective.

The other thing I have slightly more time for is watching films and the other night I saw one of my most favourite films 'Groundhog Day' from 1993. If you don't know that film it is all about a man (played by Bill Murray) who discovers that when he wakes up that every day is the same day. Whatever he goes on to do that day the next morning he wakes up he is back again at the start of the same day. Without telling you the whole of the story he realises through this experience that in many ways he has a cynical outlook on life and doesn't consider others very much.

But the fact that he can go back and re-live that same day again means that over time he discovers that he can change his thinking and his ways to make his life and those around him so much better. Oh, and also it is a love story. It is a great and an uplifting film and I would recommend it if you haven't already seen it- or watch it again.