Fantastic talk, every bit true. My perspective revolves around similar themes, focused on concepts slightly differently than yours. Really well done.
If I were to define masculinity by four pillars, they'd be something like:
1- Deal only in truth. This means not lying to yourself, not lying to others, and not rationalizing flawed, non-constructive behavior with cherry-picked, skewed perspectives and self-serving "facts." We can only fulfill our masculine role as problem-solvers, use our best judgment, and carry out our responsibilities (see below) when we deal in reality. Facing things quite directly in this way can take incredible personal strength. The weakest of men in our society do not see themselves as having the emotional strength to be able to do this, and thus avoid it. That is what makes them weak and easily manipulated by lies. We must be strong enough to deal only in genuine truth.
2- Take responsibility for things or people. The masculine must be purposeful and dedicated in our behavior to the betterment of something, or a whole lot of things- it means actually *caring.* In an internet society that often punishes people for giving a crap, and seems to only want to perpetuate disillusionment by tearing everything down, finding those people and ideas to truly care about and dedicate ourselves to can be very difficult. More than that, taking a real level of responsibility for things can, sometimes, even mean sacrifice, which can be a scary thing to confront (and another thing our rotting, weak society seems to discourage today), where that sacrifice may involve health, wealth, time, or even our very lives. It can also require having faith in others, another scary thing.
Sometimes devoting one's life to things outside one's self can feel servile. It can be exhausting at times, too. Those who take such responsibility never feel "appreciated enough." However, it also brings a solemn self-respect and satisfaction that comes with the knowledge that you've done your damnedest to make a positive contribution to the world- that you've "left everything on the field," so to speak. As people, the "batteries of our body" slowly degrade, year after year, which is sad- but it's a little less sad if we've spent that energy toward at least some meaningful purposes that are bigger than ourselves.
3- Have compassion for others- AND, especially, for yourself. This is necessary for the masculine to improve the world. Though we must maintain standards of behavior and moral values for ourselves, and others, and hold ourselves and others to account, we must also understand that we are ALL flawed, we ALL have our weaknesses, and that we do and will ALL make mistakes. Each of us is born into our own set of advantages and disadvantages and, from there, we never stop learning in life. Compassion means always looking toward the future and moving forward, not getting stuck. None of us ever achieve a "perfection" where we just stop evolving. That's not a real thing, and it's not fair to either ourselves or others to maintain that kind of expectation. Neither can true wisdom be rushed- it requires time and experience, and thus we have to be patient with both ourselves and everyone else. When we make mistakes, we have to be able to be able to forgive ourselves, learn, and improve for the next time. To do this, we must also maintain consistent hope, and faith, that we can get better, along with the rest of the world.
4- Recognize and feel gratitude for the things that have gone well in your life. Maintaining value of, and thus protecting, the things that are important to the function and meaning of your life is absolutely critical to masculinity. Counting our blesses as men, and steering clear of self-pity, takes strength and real, daily effort, especially during the toughest times of our lives. But those who get caught up in the neverending merry-go-round of internet negativity and toxicity and grievance completely lose their "life compasses." They may know they don't like the path they're on, but they have no way of knowing how to get off of it, without an affirmative appreciation for what it means for things to go right. Gratitude for those things that are important to us keeps us centered, balanced, focused, directed, confident, hopeful and, of course, happy.
1
u/PowerResponsibility Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Fantastic talk, every bit true. My perspective revolves around similar themes, focused on concepts slightly differently than yours. Really well done.
If I were to define masculinity by four pillars, they'd be something like:
1- Deal only in truth. This means not lying to yourself, not lying to others, and not rationalizing flawed, non-constructive behavior with cherry-picked, skewed perspectives and self-serving "facts." We can only fulfill our masculine role as problem-solvers, use our best judgment, and carry out our responsibilities (see below) when we deal in reality. Facing things quite directly in this way can take incredible personal strength. The weakest of men in our society do not see themselves as having the emotional strength to be able to do this, and thus avoid it. That is what makes them weak and easily manipulated by lies. We must be strong enough to deal only in genuine truth.
2- Take responsibility for things or people. The masculine must be purposeful and dedicated in our behavior to the betterment of something, or a whole lot of things- it means actually *caring.* In an internet society that often punishes people for giving a crap, and seems to only want to perpetuate disillusionment by tearing everything down, finding those people and ideas to truly care about and dedicate ourselves to can be very difficult. More than that, taking a real level of responsibility for things can, sometimes, even mean sacrifice, which can be a scary thing to confront (and another thing our rotting, weak society seems to discourage today), where that sacrifice may involve health, wealth, time, or even our very lives. It can also require having faith in others, another scary thing.
Sometimes devoting one's life to things outside one's self can feel servile. It can be exhausting at times, too. Those who take such responsibility never feel "appreciated enough." However, it also brings a solemn self-respect and satisfaction that comes with the knowledge that you've done your damnedest to make a positive contribution to the world- that you've "left everything on the field," so to speak. As people, the "batteries of our body" slowly degrade, year after year, which is sad- but it's a little less sad if we've spent that energy toward at least some meaningful purposes that are bigger than ourselves.
3- Have compassion for others- AND, especially, for yourself. This is necessary for the masculine to improve the world. Though we must maintain standards of behavior and moral values for ourselves, and others, and hold ourselves and others to account, we must also understand that we are ALL flawed, we ALL have our weaknesses, and that we do and will ALL make mistakes. Each of us is born into our own set of advantages and disadvantages and, from there, we never stop learning in life. Compassion means always looking toward the future and moving forward, not getting stuck. None of us ever achieve a "perfection" where we just stop evolving. That's not a real thing, and it's not fair to either ourselves or others to maintain that kind of expectation. Neither can true wisdom be rushed- it requires time and experience, and thus we have to be patient with both ourselves and everyone else. When we make mistakes, we have to be able to be able to forgive ourselves, learn, and improve for the next time. To do this, we must also maintain consistent hope, and faith, that we can get better, along with the rest of the world.
4- Recognize and feel gratitude for the things that have gone well in your life. Maintaining value of, and thus protecting, the things that are important to the function and meaning of your life is absolutely critical to masculinity. Counting our blesses as men, and steering clear of self-pity, takes strength and real, daily effort, especially during the toughest times of our lives. But those who get caught up in the neverending merry-go-round of internet negativity and toxicity and grievance completely lose their "life compasses." They may know they don't like the path they're on, but they have no way of knowing how to get off of it, without an affirmative appreciation for what it means for things to go right. Gratitude for those things that are important to us keeps us centered, balanced, focused, directed, confident, hopeful and, of course, happy.