threads of pride: on identity, healing, and belonging

Walking beneath a canopy of papel picado in Teotihuacan, each vibrant flag catching the light like a whisper of someone’s truth, I was reminded that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. Each one, different in color, shape, and texture, reflected what I know to be true: healing happens not in sameness, but in the beauty of being fully, visibly ourselves. Just as those colors blend into a breathtaking mosaic, each individual story strengthens the collective whole.

Teotihuacan, Mexico - November 2024

This image mirrors what therapy can offer: spaces where every identity, every voice, every ache and triumph can coexist without needing to shrink or blend in. Healing, like Pride, is both personal and communal. In individual therapy, we unearth the tender truths of our own becoming. In group therapy, we find belonging, the quiet power of being witnessed by others walking parallel paths. Both are vital. Both are sacred.

Pride is not just celebration. It is joy and protest, visibility and sanctuary.

It’s about creating spaces on city streets, in therapy rooms, in the home of a friend, under the stars, in communities of faith, or the quiet of our own hearts, where we can show up fully, unedited and unafraid.

That brilliant sky of color reminded me: we are part of a bold, living tapestry, woven from difference, strength, and the will to be seen. Held by something larger. A community. A spectrum. A legacy of resistance and love.

Let every thread be honored. Let every story fly.