You really want to know what men admit to when they’re in the company of men they trust, away from the competitive battlefields of the work place? Can you handle the truth—the truth hidden in most men in our communities—behind their masks, their plastered-on smiles, and their tremendous efforts to “look good” at all cost? Okay, if you think you’re ready.
Men are afraid of their wives. Yeah, they really are. They have no idea why they go ballistic when their wives are unhappy, angry or sad. Men are lonely. No matter how friendly, successful, wealthy or involved in their communities, men are isolated and they have no place to go for real feedback from other men, the kind of input that could help them to be happy and to stay committed to their wives and kids.
Men are angry. They’re trying their best to do their jobs as husbands and dads, while carrying with them a lifetime of pain, confusion and unresolved feelings toward their own fathers. Men are sad. Behind all that anger is an ocean of grief that terrifies the strongest of men. Men are full of shame. Men think there’s something wrong with them because their new house, car, or wife isn’t doing the trick anymore. They think they’re supposed to have all the answers. They think asking for help is a sign of weakness.
It’s not easy for most men to acknowledge when they need help, or to take off the mask and reveal who they really are to other men. It takes courage. We believe the courage is there. The work we do helps men find that courage. And with that courage, good men become better men. Imagine what your homes, communities and workplaces would be like were they filled with men committed to being the best men they could be.
