Duncan Alldridge asks and answers the question “What’s the point of a men’s group?”
“What’s the point of a men’s group?”
I was asked this question recently in the pub. I used to pour beer down my throat by the way, now I enjoy a pint and it’s enough. It’s much better.
Ten years ago I never would have dreamed I’d be holding a fortnightly group for men in my home. That would have been too weird. I’d have been one of those weird guys. Back then, I used to seek intimate male company only when I was drunk or getting drunk. That was normal. Yet of course, drunk people really can’t listen or talk very well. It was all deeply, deeply dissatisfying.
Have you thought about how other men could be a mirror for you? How another man could teach you about yourself? What would it be like to be clear in your direction and purpose, to strengthen your integrity, become more trustworthy, strong, consistent, clear and grounded? Wouldn’t you like to know how it feels to be at your edge and be held accountable?
How are you spending your time these days..? Are you living your life? Or is it just passing?
How do you really feel?
Father meets Son
Last week I was privileged to witness one of our group re-connect with his 17-year-old son, who he had invited to come to our meeting, after a period of separateness and difficult communication for them both. It was a beautiful evening. As I sat listening, the gravity and depth of the ‘father wound’ in our society became clearer to me.
We are all wounded by our fathers somehow, all of us.
Many young men growing up within an un-fathered culture reject authority from an early age. The 2012 riots in London are only one example of the dive-bomber culture of violence and unfocused aggression many young men are involved with. Statistics from schools regarding the low achievement of boys compared to girls are undeniable. Some suggest teachers have lower expectations of boys than girls. Our young men are largely schooled and brought up by women (only 15% of primary staff in the UK are men) and the older men in their lives appear distant and unreliable.
My experience is that we can help our own sons and young men by sharing our inner lives with them. Young men need to grow up in immediate contact with a reliable and secure man. One who models a healthy sexuality, a sense of inner compass and a grasp on his soul. Perhaps one step towards this for us as men is learning how to be real with other men. It took me a while in my life to feel that being vulnerable with other men was okay. The men in our group challenge me to step up to the mark when I flounder and are transparent with me. They hear me as I am, and I hear them.
Honouring the child in me.
Deep in the heart of me, my inner child, is the man waiting to be honoured. If this honouring is absent before any man brings himself to a woman it is likely he will remain a ‘boy’ in that relationship. I have found this to be painfully true. Perhaps this thought underpins much of the malaise in our society. Many of us are not meeting our women or other partners where they need us.
I am learning that this honouring can only take place among a group of men. It used to take place in the tribal rituals of our ancestors, in the fields and communities of farmers who worked on the land, where skills and trades were passed down from father to son. Boys understood how their fathers actually worked. Where does this take place today? Does it take place at all?
In the tragic and moving story of Eddie the shipyard docker, Arthur Miller identifies in his play Death of a Salesman that all most men require is respect.
‘I want my respect. Didn’t you ever hear of that?’
Yet Eddie tried to do it alone. He didn’t speak his truth until it was too late. He couldn’t escape being his own island. He got stuck deeper and deeper into his own shed. The ‘respect’ he longed for was an illusion; all his pain and anger welled up over the years. He was looking for his soul. And he lost it.
Being part of a group of men has taught me that we need each other for real right now; in a space where we can challenge each other safely, be together, and identify with some of the challenges, joys and longings of being a man in today’s world.
So, it’s not weird touchy-feely stuff. It’s making a commitment to other men to be the strong, authentic and loving man you are. It’s making a commitment to the people around you too, in your life, to ‘man up’ (in the best possible use of the term) and be one of the men that we all need around us today. It’s standing shoulder to shoulder.
“there is a real sense of aliveness and clarity when men sit together and share”
In the conversations I have with men, I frequently hear “I’ve never been this open with another man before.” It’s tough out there. Other men are waiting to shoot us down, waiting for any sign of perceived weakness so they can get one over on us. But my vulnerability is my strength, and now it can be heard. What would it be like to have the real support of other men in your life?
You’re not alone man, you’re with the men.
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Photo: Sabbeke / flickr
A version of this post was originally published on Our Masculine Heart
Thank you, Duncan, for writing this. I have looked for men’s groups in my local area (first in Glasgow, now in Aberdeen) but there aren’t any. I’m a bit trepidatious about starting one on my own as I don’t feel qualified enough (or old enough)/ Do you have any advice for me?
Hi David. Thanks for connecting. I suggest you need to try connect with like-minded men first and see what evolves. We are around! But..There’s a yearly event below in your neck of woods. Maybe suggest you explore this and I’m sure some groups often evolve out of the rites of passage event you’ll undertake. Don’t worry about not being qualified.. Maybe put an ad on Gumtree..?
https://www.facebook.com/events/593000720752118/?fref=ts