Men’s (and Woman’s) journey to happiness and wholeness begins when we find the courage to travel deep within ourselves and take responsibility for what we find there-all of it!
This means a man has to look at himself without flinching, and own up to whatever wreckage he may find. But he also needs to acknowledge and honor the promise, energy, and good life he discovers in the same place. Both will be found, I promise you. Some have called this “the golden shadow”! It looks shadowy, but it is filled with wonderful possibilities too.
What he discovers is that everything belongs-the good, the had, and the ugly. This is hard work, especially coming to terms with the bad and the ugly. It may take a lifetime to realize this clearly and with forgiveness. When we’re young men, it certainly doesn’t feel like everything belongs, but when we are older, we often know that it did, and it does. As C. G. Jung said, “Where we stumble and fall, there we can find pure gold”!
When was the last time I stopped to give thanks for everything and everyone in my life? Have I understood that all of it has meaning, and that all of it belongs?
