He couldn’t have been older than 23.6
His therapist profile did say he was an MSW intern
I sat down on the couch across from him
And I told him –
I am looking for my ‘Robin Williams-esque’ therapist from Good Will Hunting
I think, maybe he hasn’t seen the movie Good Will Hunting
It was made in 1997
And yet, he was wise
I could feel it in his presence
And his questions
And the way he held space as I began to share
Still, I was holding back
I felt this instinct to make him laugh, to reassure him,
It was okay,
that I was okay,
that getting older is okay
As Robin Williams would have, he brought this dynamic into awareness
He looked me directly in the eyes and shared
that even though he was my therapist
I felt I needed to protect him
from the burdens of getting older
The young therapist and the patient whose life’s calling is to empower youth
He said then, where do you put this pain, these struggles?
If not to a young therapist, maybe an old one?
But they have troubles of their own I would guess
Maybe, I needed to trust that he could handle it
That what I found in Good Will Hunting
Was more than an older, wise, goofy therapist
It was a younger person inspiring the older to be more real
To refine the truths you tell
To open back up to life through realness
Because let’s be real in this moment, really, what is age?