Tender Friends

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.

Henri Nouwen

I started to write a tidbit on the physiology of wound healing and, after reading that National Health Institute link a bit, realized it’s not a very lighthearted subject. So click that previous link only if you dig medical stuff (there are no gross or any pictures in it). Then I looked up things related to how our body produces heat, which led to this Healthline “Thermoregulation” page . Again, not very fun for a tidbit. So, to make up for those clinical factoids, here’s a link to photographer Seth Casteel’s page of “Underwater Dogs” which should elicit a warm and tender smile.

About the author

Henri Nouwen (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community. Over the course of his life, Nouwen was heavily influenced by the work of Anton Boisen, Thomas Merton, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, and Jean Vanier.