Appreciating Men
Hi Mike,
What you wrote reminds me of a men’s group I led a while ago based on the scroll by Harvey Jackins:
I am a good guy,
I am one of the good guys,
And the bad guys are good guys too.
Just about every guy had a good but hard session on the statement, particularly the last line. It seems to me that most of us have internalized the idea that men are rotten in some way or another. Fathers and other male leaders are often targeted with this feeling, since they are often the visible source of our oppression. I think it is good to take a stand, inside our sessions and outside of them, of appreciating all guys and being proud of ourselves as men. This includes, of course, our dads—each of whom did the very best that he possibly could.
Chris Austill
Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail
discussion list for leaders of men