I spent half of my school years in a religious school only for boys. I spent over 4 years in the military surrounded by and working almost only with men. Even though all around me were boys and men just like me, I found that I had a difficulty to connect, to be myself, to show my vulnerability and share my true thoughts and feelings. With women I could share, talk and open up, but with men I had to be strong, reserved and be as much of a “real” man as was expected of me.
Over the last few years I started to open up to another way of expressing my masculinity. There was space for my vulnerability and for my fears and tears among other men. I found circles of men that I could share my feelings with and be more and more myself. Along the way I met many other men with a story like mine, longing to open up, to be held and embraced by other men, missing a brother or a fatherly hug along with a guiding voice on their path.
One of these men who I met a few years ago, showed me another piece of the puzzle that I was missing. Through him I could learn a way of teaching and leading that I hadn’t encountered before. A powerful mix of wisdom with vulnerability. An ability to guide others without trying to control the situation or fix anyone or anything. After following different teachers and gurus that “had all the answers” I was touched to find a man who was walking his talk and who could admit that he doesn’t know and trust in a powerful force that is beyond him.
I think a lot about the kind of healer and teacher that I want to be, and I keep coming back to this vision of a leader who leads from the heart, who doesn’t have all the answers but is committed to truth and to love as guiding forces. I know many men feel there is another way to live and lead and that if our world leaders were as humble and vulnerable as they are strong, we would be living in a different world.
LEADERS OF THE HEART
This November I will be taking part in a powerful journey for men in Sinai. We will be meeting during the UN Climate Change Conference that is also happening in November in Sinai, with many of the world leaders coming together to make policies and agreements around the future of our planet. We chose this specific time and place so that we can work on our own roles as men and leaders and hope that the inner changes that happen within us, will have ripples across the energetic fields that connect all men and humans on this earth.
We are inviting men who share this vision and who are hungry to connect to something deeper inside regarding our mission as men. We don’t know how this will have an effect or what will come from this gathering, but the calling is clear, and we know what we need to do now.
