Tuesday, May 17, 2005
The start of a journey
Jeff, Peter, Warren, Everett, Jim, Hector and Rob - the mens' group.
An anomaly in today's society.
Men trying to make sense of the common day occurences that pass before them.
Simple as the concept is, the reality of life has a complexity that has eluded each of us. Occasionally, we each in our own turn glimpse the truth. Fleeting as it is, however faint in our memory it resides, once viewed it stays with us permanently as a physical object. To each of us it is different because we all exist in a different point in life. We regress and advance in our flow toward something.
This is not a complicated journey, for we are men and simplicity is what we all started with at birth. The complexity has been created by each of us to justify our actions, hide the truth and to buy or pass time. As the recognition and acceptance of our reality is something we are reluctant to accept, our actions and decisions are something that we do not easily lay claim too. We continue to do things that we know to be the wrong actions if only to escape the frustration and pain of going somewhere we have never gone before.
We appear once a week, at a coffee shop, same time and same chairs if possible. The gathering occurs to confirm our fragility in participating in day to day life. Occasionally two, more often than not, five and periodically all the group (6) are present for the two hour session. We are not guided by agenda or minutes, only by our emotions. We sit and listen if that is what we need at the moment; we talk if we have a need. Honesty and truth, as we know them, are held in the highest regard. Condemnation, laying of blame and criticism are not a part of the conversation. Questioning for clarification, by the participants, encourages an uncovering of the levels that are used to complicate a reality.
We all come from different walks of life, are of different ages ranging from 45 to 56. In society and the work place, we are all viewed as dynamic, strong, educated and accomplished individuals. Each of us is accomplished in our choosen fields, some in more than one. Some are married, some are divorced, and some are in the process of reassessing their current marital state. Some have achieved a harmony that they would have not thought possible a short time ago. That time period may be one week, one month or years. Time with the group is a relative concept. One step may take six months, each of us have made a quantum leap in a second of revelation.
The ebb and flow of knowledge, acceptance and strength has not prevented us from regressing from time to time. The path is not straight and linear.
An anomaly in today's society.
Men trying to make sense of the common day occurences that pass before them.
Simple as the concept is, the reality of life has a complexity that has eluded each of us. Occasionally, we each in our own turn glimpse the truth. Fleeting as it is, however faint in our memory it resides, once viewed it stays with us permanently as a physical object. To each of us it is different because we all exist in a different point in life. We regress and advance in our flow toward something.
This is not a complicated journey, for we are men and simplicity is what we all started with at birth. The complexity has been created by each of us to justify our actions, hide the truth and to buy or pass time. As the recognition and acceptance of our reality is something we are reluctant to accept, our actions and decisions are something that we do not easily lay claim too. We continue to do things that we know to be the wrong actions if only to escape the frustration and pain of going somewhere we have never gone before.
We appear once a week, at a coffee shop, same time and same chairs if possible. The gathering occurs to confirm our fragility in participating in day to day life. Occasionally two, more often than not, five and periodically all the group (6) are present for the two hour session. We are not guided by agenda or minutes, only by our emotions. We sit and listen if that is what we need at the moment; we talk if we have a need. Honesty and truth, as we know them, are held in the highest regard. Condemnation, laying of blame and criticism are not a part of the conversation. Questioning for clarification, by the participants, encourages an uncovering of the levels that are used to complicate a reality.
We all come from different walks of life, are of different ages ranging from 45 to 56. In society and the work place, we are all viewed as dynamic, strong, educated and accomplished individuals. Each of us is accomplished in our choosen fields, some in more than one. Some are married, some are divorced, and some are in the process of reassessing their current marital state. Some have achieved a harmony that they would have not thought possible a short time ago. That time period may be one week, one month or years. Time with the group is a relative concept. One step may take six months, each of us have made a quantum leap in a second of revelation.
The ebb and flow of knowledge, acceptance and strength has not prevented us from regressing from time to time. The path is not straight and linear.
# posted by A Mens' Group @ 2:24 PM 
