Men: can’t live with them,
can easily live without them;
as the poet now says.
“Worry not what a good man should be: be one.”
Marcus Aurelius.
We can all subscribe to that, shirley.
Do you care about men, even just the ones in your life?
Recently l commented on a post about men’s loneliness, with predictable results; it was as if I’d said musicians can’t change sax.
I find this mostly hilarious,
darkly.
~~~
Data on suicide, violence, addiction and incarceration for men and boys are shocking.
Do you think your men and boys are immune?
Is it likely women will be entirely unaffected by this crisis, and coming tsunami?
Do you care?
~~~
With a daughter and two granddaughters, l have good reason to want plenty good men around in future;
but we all have skin in this game, so here’s an idea, and it’s easy-peasy.
You already say nice things to your pets,
and you endlessly pet your pet,
yet they never say a word.
Whereas boys and men have been screaming for a long time; isn’t it amazing that we treat our pets better than we do our boys and men?
~~~
So, here goes…
Three little words, now and again, in context, is what l’m suggesting.
Here’s a smorgasbord, simply pick your favourites:
I appreciate you
I respect you
I back you…
I believe you
I trust you
I hear you…
I need you
I like you
I love you…
I want you…
Not all of them,
not to every man,
and not all the time.
But…
say these words to the men in your life, without qualification or irony or much embellishment;
say these words to your dad, grandad, brother, son, nephew, colleague, friend, partner, husband;
say these words now and then, and now and then think kindly of your men.
~~~
And think kindly of other men,
because soooooo many men rarely get a kind word, let alone a compliment.
~~~
And then, and then…
there’s touch, that most human trait;
touch is tricky and fraught, l know,
I know it is,
but…
soooooo many men rarely get an affectionate touch, let alone an intimate one.
Please don’t think this is trite or pointless, perhaps because you are tired of unwanted compliments, and worse.
Much worse, l know,
so much worse.
But…
I assure you this is not pointless, because touch heals souls,
touch is human, touch can change everything,
touch changes us.
And…
this post,
just this post,
is not really about you.
It’s about men,
your men,
all men.
~~~
Pic: my dad, my boy, 1990.
~~~
