On Why I Love Being a Therapist...

Maybe this is going to sound a bit corny, but hey..I am a bit quirky and weird most of the time, so I might as well be corny too. Today I actually realized that I might be living my purpose already... I think about what I want to do in life, and I know the answer instantly - I want to help people and make the world a better place. It's always what I've wanted and recently I've realized that for the most part I actually get to do that. As in, I do that more often than not.

I remember when I was in grad school being all excited when I found out there was a term for what I believed in, and wanting to tell everyone that this thing exists, and we can make it happen. The term is: " structural functionalism"... basically the idea that if you improve a persons life (or internal struggle), it can improve a family's life or a work life, and then in turn improve the world....in essence that our whole world can get better by helping the building blocks of the world (the people) improve. I still totally believe it.. heck, I even think I dated a guy longer than I should have once because he gave me a Mother Teresa quote that embodied the essence of it (well played, Casey). For those of you who are interested the quote says "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop" - Mother Teresa.

Anyway, after work as I drive home I am often struck by what a privileged job I have. Not only do a I get to be a witness to other people's growth and journey through life, often being trusted with secrets, fears and dreams they are only beginning to unearth, but I also get to hear back about the differences that my clients are able to make in their lives (and the weirder part the differences they feel they are making because of things I have said, or how they view my vision of them). Recently a client of mine said "well I just thought about how you see me, and decided to be that person". (Holy crap, what a testament to the power of our beliefs and how we shape our identity). I get to see progress in a way that is so damn inspiring that it gives me faith in humanity on a pretty much daily basis. Yes, I hear terrible stories of trauma but in those stories I hear perseverance, strength and the development of character. I get to witness my clients learning about themselves, stretching themselves and even healing themselves. I also get to experience the trust of a client leaning into a challenge I have laid before them, and trusting that I have their best interest at heart. It's amazing.

Part of me feels like an optimistic chump, to say that ever day I make a difference in people's lives, And big picture, I know the majority of it is not me, it's them. My clients are champions, but it feels dang good to know that for many of them I have been instrumental in their learning and healing process. Yes, sometimes the goal has more to do with reducing suffering than it does creating joy, but we are making room for the possibility of joy, and often that's a lot bigger deal than it sounds. Maybe it's a bit egocentric, but I truely do believe that I make a difference in my client's lives, and I know they make a difference in mine. And every day for a brief moment I am reminded that I am making the world a better place, hopefully one building block at a time. 

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Close up as same flower as above - see the Star of David with the shift in perspective?