“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela It’s an interesting week to consider today’s topic. Last Sunday was the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, and […]
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” – Proverbs 17:17 I just came back from a long weekend with four of my oldest — in terms of length of friendship — friends. We arranged to meet for a four-day weekend on the North Carolina coast to catch up, watch […]
It is is hard to describe the condition of masculinity in the US as anything other than grim. Women earn close to 60% of the college degrees awarded each year, and since a college degree is the price of admission to most salaried jobs, this places men at a disadvantage in launching a career. The knowledge […]
Note: In honor of the start of football season, here’s a post from the early days of this blog. For a lot of men, fall means football. Perhaps it’s the memory of their own playing days in Pop Warner leagues, sandlot games or the varsity squad. Maybe it’s memories of going to games with Dad. Or […]
“From the primal elements you brought forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. You made us the rulers of creation…” – The Book of Common Prayer (Rite II, Eucharistic Prayer C) Here in the US we’ve just commemorated Labor Day which, despite its origins as a celebration of trade unionism, […]
“You can’t go around half-pregnant.” – A famous saying by my uncle. Our mission here at Ontozoan – One Real Life is to motivate and inspire men to embrace Thriving Authentic Masculinity and to become the best possible version of themselves. Part of the way we accomplish this is through my passing along lessons I’ve […]
“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” -1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG) […]
Commenter Dale provided a reminder recently of an important concept that deserves more attention: “Dalrock, on his blog, has somewhat regularly been hitting the idea that we have love and marriage totally backwards. We think that a relationship of romantic love is the correct place in which to have sex and create marriage. A consequence […]
“Many people die with their music still in them.” – Oliver Wendell Homes, Sr. There has been a lot of heavy stuff happening of late. Let’s lighten up — just a bit — with another visit to the poetry corner. Here is a 2007 poem by X. J. Kennedy: In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus […]
“Of all sad words of tongue or pen the saddest are these IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN” -Anonymous I have written about the importance of masculine initiation here and here, and I’ve featured a post written by my older son providing his perspective. In this post, I want to provide some practical considerations against the day […]
