emotional healing for men: discover your power – begin with honesty
Marshall Shank was the first Director of Outreach with Proven Ministries, at the helm for over five faithful years. On this episode of the Naked Gospel, he joins Wailer, the current Outreach Director, as they compare notes and review a decade of ministry tendencies, trajectories and proclivities. The depth of their friendship is apparent in the breadth of their expressions and the playful heights of their convivial humor. Their dialogue develops an exploration of emotional healing for men.
Knowing your own story
Emotional healing for men is not easy, but it is astoundingly simple. One of the greatest tragedies in modernity is the overwhelming amount of people that succumb to complacency. Life is hard and the drift is easy. Yet the fullness of our potentiality can only ever become revealed through the relentless dedication of character formation. Of course, that means reckoning with the darkest parts of ourselves.
Reckoning requires so much more than merely identifying. Many folk know their faults; precious few pass through that brutal gauntlet of repentance. Over and over again, we must turn away from our former selves and press on toward the glory of our inheritance in Him.
being kind to yourself
Of course, we must proceed with gentleness, even toward ourselves. To be clear, this must not become conflated with laziness of any kind. Emotional healing for men will never come through a 1-800 number Matrix download of some instantly installed subroutine. Growth is slow. Yet consistency is key. “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”
In that slowness, we are permitted to be kind and gentle toward ourselves throughout the process. This means practicing patience even as we press on to the goal. There is a tension in this space, between ambition and contentment. Yet we must maintain tension to make music. Too tight and the string snaps; too loose and there’s no note at all.
do it in community
In order to become ourselves, to live into the fullness of our own individual imago dei wonders, we must live it out in the context of community. Aristotle said, “A friend is a second self.” Our friends mirror us to ourselves; our awareness of their consciousness makes us increasingly more conscious of our own existence; this companionable presence is where the real stuff of life can unfurl. Aristotle continues the reflection: “Therefore a man ought also to share his friend’s consciousness of his existence, and this is attained by their living together and by conversing and communicating their thoughts to each other; for this is the meaning of living together as applied to human beings, it does not mean merely feeding in the same place, as it does when applied to cattle.”
We find this sentiment throughout every wisdom tradition. Humans do not flourish in isolation. Concurrently, emotional healing for men will never happen alone.
ascending the insurmountable
James Clear is famous for his 1% principle. Oftentimes, we endeavor after too much too soon, resulting in perpetual defeatism. However, if we set our sights on sustainability, we’ll achieve immense progress. A simple 1% improvement every day yields more than a 300% improvement over the year. Consider that! One single year of diligent simplicity means a 3x you: triple the capacity and capability; triple the presence and participation; triple the power and the joy. Why wouldn’t we sign up for that class and stay engaged‽ This is the harrowing, hope-giving invitation to emotional healing for men.
– C.T. Giles