Tales of a Shrink

Today is World AIDS Day, as NPR reminded me about 35 times this morning. I have had the honor and privilege to work with people living with HIV/AIDS for the past 18 months. I have met people who are facing a deadly, incurable disease with courage, dignity and hope. I am continually impressed by the strength I see in the faces of the men, women and children that I meet.

I want to honor the people that I know who are surviving and witnessing this disease. I was going to write brief notes about some of my clients, but I've decided not to do that. I'm not going to write about someone else's experience. I will let people who have HIV/AIDS speak for themselves.

Instead, I'm going to quote AIDS Partnership Michigan's "Affirmation for a Memorial Moment." This is what we read at staff meetings after one of our staff or one of our clients has died.

We are often blessed in meeting people who resound with courage and strength. We remember them as warriors in a fight against a disease that thinks it can beat us, but never will. We also remember our work with these individuals, who touched our lives both as professionals as well as teachers of what caring is really about. In addition, we wish that the peoples around the world suffering due to HIV/AIDS, war, poverty and other scourges will see good health, peace and freedom soon. Calling upon whomever you call upon as your own source of universal strength and glory, let us say amen.