Thankfulness Thursday from gokc
Hi everyone. Aaron here. I’ve been increasingly thinking of Thanksgiving week with all the beautiful colors of fall surrounding us here in KC. In the midst of pie (always on my mind), people & parties I’m reminded to slow down and reflect with gratitude. Below will feature insight into the thankfulness of a couple therapists from our gokc therapy team.
First, I want to give my appreciation and gratitude to everyone who has empowered me to live this life I’m living at gokc ‘out in the wild’ (small business owners will hear that and know). May 2025 I took the leap into full time work with gokc & left my day-job in community mental health. Leaving the comfort and predictability (in routine & salary) was a little scary. But comfort & predictability rarely fulfill forever. They weren’t for me anymore. So, here I am with a grateful appreciation for my family, friends & colleagues who have supported me all along. I feel your love everyday.
Also, how lucky I am to work with such terrific people throughout the KC community? Every person I work with in therapy teaches, challenges and encourages me to be a more effective therapist. I’m grateful you trust in me (& our gokc team) to sit with you, listen & help you find your courage to change your own life - thank you!
In difficult times, the practice of gratitude can feel like a monumental task. When the weight of the world feels heavy, when the struggle of humanity is so profound and cruelty seems to lurk around every corner, where do we even begin?
This year, I am beginning with a different kind of thankfulness. I am not ignoring the darkness, but choosing to be grateful for the light that cuts through it. This holiday season, my deepest gratitude is reserved for our voices.
I am thankful for the voices that refuse to be silenced. The ones that pierce the quiet comfort of complicity and challenge the dangerous tide of permissiveness. I have learned that engaging in therapy often gives magnification to our internal voices. These are voices that in time break free from our minds and spill out into the world, advocating for ourselves, others, and our planet in ways that change each forever.
So much of our energy is spent trying to meet unspoken, undefined expectations. We adhere to a chorus of "shoulds" that we never consented to. We should be this type of successful. We should want that specific life. We should stay quiet to keep the peace. But who determines this "should"? Often, it is a legacy of outdated systems, fear based thinking, or simply the loudest voice in the room. Breaking free from this is not an act of rebellion for its own sake, but one of reclamation. We reclaim the right to define a life and a world based on purpose, compassion, and integrity, rather than inherited obligation.
This is where our voices become our most vital compass. How, then, can we best use them to bravely navigate toward a proof positive world for us all? It begins by turning down the volume on that external noise to listen to the quiet, persistent truth within. It requires the courage to give that internal voice a microphone, first in our own choices, and then in our communities. Our voice is not just the words we speak aloud, but the life we choose to live. It is the boundaries we set, the compassion we extend, the causes we champion. It is a quiet "no" to what harms us and a resounding "yes" to what heals.
These are the voices that speak truth to power, even when their words are met with towering resistance and the consequences are steep. These are the voices of advocates, whistleblowers, and everyday people who choose courage over comfort. They are the persistent, often shaky, voices that say "this is not right." In doing so, they become a beacon for others who feel the same. They remind us that in the face of overwhelming challenge, the act of speaking up is itself a profound victory.
This Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks for the sound of that courage. It is the sound of hope itself, insisting on a better way.
I recently traveled to India where I visited with old friends. We waded in the Kosi River in the Himalayas, watched monkeys swing in trees, and witnessed our dear friend get married. There were many special moments over the course of this trip, but what made it most meaningful were those nights connecting with friends over the arts, beauty, and magic (as expressive arts therapists do, of course!). I recognize my privilege in being able to take an international trip like this, and I owe a lot of gratitude to some very special people for their hospitality, as well as for those back home helping me make this trip happen. I'm forever thankful for these friendships.
Here's to the friends that you'll always be connected to no matter how far away life takes you, to the friends that can always help you find your way when you feel a little lost, and to the friends that just get you.
