We are raised to be tough, to be non-emotional, to be bread-winners, sacrificers. As young men we are programmed to compete with each other. Young heterosexual men are taught to chase attention from women. Popular media depictions of masculinity and male psychology portray us as doofus dads, or action-hero studs, or young clueless woosies. Just look at Superbowl commercials or network television to see what I’m talking about.
According to popular media, we would basically do nothing but eat bad food, watch sports, and ogle women if not for the intervention of the smarter, better women in our lives. Some uber-macho media men can take care of business, kick ass and take names, but they are tortured, unable to have human relations, trapped in their world of macho fabulousness.
If you are reading this message, you’ve probably already rejected the “dumb jock” archetype. You have little or no interest in being a “stud”. Chances are, you listen to NPR and have learned to listen and make eye contact in conversations. You probably rarely raise your voice and when you do, you apologize afterward. Chances are, you’ve learned how to be nice, and put the lid down after you piss, and keep your cave-man tendencies totally secret or on a tight leash.
But, chances are, there is probably something missing in you too – something deep, something ancient, and mighty and big. You may get hints of this in dreams. You may feel a restlessness or a quiet desperation in your life, in your relationships. Or you might be numb, frozen, checked-out. You may get a thrill when you watch the action stud in a movie- something in your resonates with the fearless warrior who is less about talk and more about action.
You may have your head in porn all the time- watching other men have sex and enjoy their fit bodies with abandon. You may feel a longing for something strong and masculine. You may feel a profound ache to be in the wilderness, or to engage in big action. You may feel alone- like it’s you against your life – like it’s up to you to bring home the bacon in your life, and that bacon is never quite enough. Chances are, it’s not easy for you to give and receive love from other men. This list of symptoms for the modern man could go on and on. Whatever the case for you as a man, I want you to know you’re definitely not alone.
When I say “You deserve the best of life and life deserves the best of you” that means that that you deserve to live a life that reflects your greatness. As men we have massive potential for deep wisdom and wise action. We have a unique way of connecting to the sacred, we have a unique way of connecting to nature. We have a unique way of connecting to and processing our emotions, and we have a unique capacity to understand and support and heal other men.
But all of these ways must be cultivated. For the vast majority of us, it takes some training to learn how to be fully alive and deeply connected. It takes some special attention to learn to be deeply masculine without being macho, to be forceful and direct and mighty without being brutal. It takes some practice and honing to learn to be connected to emotion and have an open heart without being a “soft male”.