Email: aaron@circlesedges.orgThere are moments when the world feels heavy with brokenness, when problems gather around us and something inside wants to move quickly toward repair. Aaron gently lingers in that space, exploring the quiet pull to become the fixer in every room. With steady presence and thoughtful questioning, he invites us to notice the subtle line between compassionate presence and identity built on being needed. What happens when helping becomes who we are? What tightens inside us when conflict appears, and what softens...
Email: aaron@circlesedges.org
There are moments when the world feels heavy with brokenness, when problems gather around us and something inside wants to move quickly toward repair. Aaron gently lingers in that space, exploring the quiet pull to become the fixer in every room. With steady presence and thoughtful questioning, he invites us to notice the subtle line between compassionate presence and identity built on being needed. What happens when helping becomes who we are? What tightens inside us when conflict appears, and what softens when we choose to sit with discomfort instead of controlling it? Through reflections on burnout, empathic distress, and relational tension, Aaron opens a path toward deeper self-awareness and spiritual growth. Rather than rejecting service, he encourages a more spacious way of showing up, one rooted in wholeness instead of fear. The conversation settles into a simple but profound question: who are you if you are not fixing?
Invitations to Consider:
- The difference between fixing as control and presence as companionship in service.
- How empathic distress can drive reactive helping behaviors.
- The emotional cost of attaching identity and self-worth to being needed.
- Why sitting with discomfort can deepen relationships and reveal truth.
- The societal consequences of collective “fixing” rooted in fear rather than awareness.
About Aaron:
Aaron Tabacco, PhD, has spent more than thirty years guiding people through growth and change, often in complex and high-stakes environments. He currently serves as the Director of Staff Experience at a major academic health sciences university. With a background spanning nursing, neuroscience, education, coaching, and mediation, his work centers on helping individuals and organizations navigate identity, connection, and transformation with greater clarity and care.
Known for his grounded presence and compassionate communication, Aaron works with students, clinicians, faculty, executives, and senior leaders across healthcare and other industries. His approach integrates relational depth, reflective practice, and a commitment to creating more humane, integrated ways of working and living. He works in San Francisco, California, and lives in Vancouver, Washington, where he continues a lifelong engagement with writing, music, and the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest alongside his husband and three adult sons.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-tabacco-phd-83359b9/
https://lucusgroup.com/home
https://substack.com/@aarontabacco?r=b5ap9&utm_medium=ios
https://www.youtube.com/@CirclesEdges
Email: aaron@circlesedges.org
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