The topic of our September 30th Chicago meeting was Cultivating Creativity. Mike Rosen and Todd Adams wrote a couple great poems about their MenLiving experience.
We Gather- Mike Rosen
Under the timeless glow of an autumn moon
We gather
Not to harvest fields as the thousands who preceded us
Around the fire, under the same bright moon our ancestors knew
We gather
Nurturing not the land
But our hearts
Not our heads
But our hearts
We gather
Fuller with every crackle of flame
We work to grow
Nor our fortunes
But our hearts
We gather
Feeding
Not our bellies
But the famine unknowingly created by life
We gather
Feeding not our mouths
But an insatiable thirst
An unending desire to express
To let out all that’s within us
We gather
To satiate that thirst
Our hearts
Our souls
All that brings us joy
We gather
Fuller than when we began
We gather
I’m In – by Todd Adams
We are a community of men.
We give and we get.
We share… we share laughter, we share grunts, we share groans.
We experience uncomfortable meetings & uncomfortable moments. We experience order, disorder, and reorder.
This is tough- terrifying guts, heart wrenching clearings. If we’re doing it right, it’s messy. Can we embrace it? Untapped anger, unrealized sadness, reluctant fear, paralyzing shame.
But there’s gold on the other side. There’s exhilarating friendship and deep connection.
There’s the almighty king
There’s the mysterious magician
There’s the powerful warrior
There’s the unconditional lover.
Are you brave enough to step into this familiar world that you have since forgotten?
Drop your sword and shield. Take off your mask and show us who you are.
I’m in.
