You help me to understand myself by seeing me, hearing me, feeling into the man I am. This is a subtle form of play. I am beginning to understand it as the highest form of "courtship."

I’m very sure that prizing balance is pretty much the best way to dampen the fire that lies at the heart of love, marriage

...let me take a moment to thank the men who, in the absence of fathers, uncles, elders who did not step up to the plate —thank you stepping up to the plate today. You inspire me.

To listen to this silence and allow it to show me and more tender, more vulnerable, more receptive, truer way of being…with tears as well as laughter as well as wonder…

It does not come easily to us, true noticing — that transmutation of looking into seeing. We must apprentice ourselves to it daily. It is our life’s work. (Maria Popova)

I should have known better. The signs were there, literally...

"I am frustrated and feel lonely - deep into my bones. I miss touch and yearn for human connection.... I wonder how one forms and maintains relationships? Of any sorts ... I remain clueless about it and marvel at how others do it."

...“chasing the dragon” is usually associated with the heroin addict’s constant pursuit of the high. The oblivion. Perhaps the dragon of sexual desire is like this..., and especially for us as men...

I think my nervous system is here to tell me something that will help me, not limit me. For me to become myself more fully, I have to trust that my nervous system is doing more than telling me to shut down.

My latest thought: Perhaps it's also important for me to lose time with everyone I meet? It's one of the reasons I choose to spend time with one or two people, rather than in groups. I feel myself too hurried and too protective when even three or fou...