Finding Your Nemo

Bruce

"Name's Bruce. It's all right. I understand. Why trust a shark, right?" – Bruce

Wolf in sheep's clothing

Bruce, a massive great white shark, meets Marlin and Dory on their quest to find the boat that abducted Nemo. Instead of trying to eat Marlin and Dory, as he should have because of his nature, Bruce invites them to a party; where there is more sharks! Everything is great and there is no apparent threat to the safety of Marlin and Dory, until Dory gets hurt and Bruce smells her blood. Bruce's instincts kick in and activates his killer instincts as he tries to eat Marlin and Dory. Bruce is in actual fact all the people you meet on your journey who promises to be there for you, to help you, to support you and in the end only turns out to be in it for their own gain. They will stop at nothing to get what they want, even if it means that they might have to kill your dreams to do so. The reality is that these people are not necessarily outsiders, they might come in the form of a close friend or a jealous family member who in the end betrays you. Your Bruce can literally be anyone because they are masters of manipulation and camouflage and you therefore need to be careful who you trust and share your dreams with. We have all met, interacted and fled from a Bruce in our lives, and if you are as "lucky" as me then you have had more than one.

They overwhelm and paralyse us

Just like Marlin was paralysed and overwhelmed by his face-to-face encounter with the ocean's most ferocious killing machine, so are we paralysed and overwhelmed by the sharks we meet and interact with on our journey to find our Nemo. This prevents us from thinking straight and from standing up for ourselves. We are unable to get out of the situation until our survival instincts kick in and we literally have to fight to ensure our survival.

Being with them is not fun, but crucial

Just like Marlin was cautious to go with Bruce and to trust the peace by joining a shark at a party so are we cautious and weary of the Bruce's we have in our lives. But the truth is they come like an angel of the light and interacting with them at first, before they smell blood, is usually fun and beneficial. It is totally possible for you to share a lot of great moments and memories with your Bruce.

But a time will or has come where their true colours are revealed and you have to flee to ensure your survival. You will have to duck and dive and hide to stay out of their line of sight so that you are not destroyed. You will have to fight off your feelings of stupidity and self-blame because you have allowed yourself to trust someone who you have had your doubts about and now face destruction over. You will have sleepless nights because of these interactions. But one thing which we seldom realise and acknowledge is that it is during your time with your Bruce that you actually make wonderful and crucial discoveries, discoveries that will certainly make your task of finding your Nemo possible. It is during your time with your Bruce that you meet the people who will set you up for greatness. It might not always be fun to meet and interact with your Bruce, but it is crucial.

"Swim away! Swim away!"

Because of their determination to get you and to devour you they tend to lose sight of their surroundings and the consequences of their words and actions. They lose sight of the life-threatening environment they have created, an environment which has the potential to destroy you and them as well. They possess the natural ability to set things in motion which will force you to fight for your survival. Their actions have a direct bearing on us and our dreams and we therefore need to be cautious to not trust the peace but to stay alert and to pay attention to our surroundings so that we can make a run for it before it is too late.