As men, we learn early how we should show up around our peers and family members. We learn that some parts of ourselves are not safe to share with the world. We internalize this way of being and then we turn around and police our male peers. Look back to our fathers, grandfathers and we see varying degrees of the same thing: Men living their lives with both their joy and grief limited, narrowed down to a pathetic spectrum.  We compress our big feelings so tightly, we may not realize we are poised to pass on our limited range of being to our own children and their children.

But what if we could be the ones to break this cycle?

I find that, as men, our most direct path back to being fully human is through our grief. This isn't an easy pathway, but the wholeness it can reveal makes the journey worthwhile. This wholeness is then reflected in our relationships, our marriage and our work. Part of my own grief work is writing poetry. I wrote this poem, Healing the Prometheus Tree with a desire to put into words the opportunity we have as men to heal ourselves and the wounded Patriarchy, of which we are both benefactors and victims.

If I can accompany you on this journey, please reach out and let me know how I can support you.

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