Dragons captivate us. They are out “there” somewhere. Sometimes we know which resources they hoard. Fire-breathing vultures, they live off the leavings of those they’ve conquered or merely frightened. Sometimes they visit us and those we care about. Seen or unseen, they drain us and distort our identity. We become focused on protection from it or coping with it. At worst, dragons capture us and we begin to serve it; further isolating us from loved one…and ones who love us.
“Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.”
-John Wayne
The dragons we face are rarely fire-breathing monsters although I’ve had some bosses with horrible breath. Have you ever lived by an invisible script like: the belief that asking for help makes us weak, that our value depends on our productivity, or that real men don’t cry. Maybe you’ve struggled with “down days” or anger and because of your job or other obligations, you can’t seek the help you desire.
And as bell hooks reminds us, “To know love we have to tell the truth to ourselves and to others.” Facing dragons takes both kinds of courage.
I’m probably breaking some rules of building a platform because I’m not sure what this will become. I have some ideas and plans but I want help. I want help because connection with others and celebrating with them is the foundation of a joy-filled life rather than simply a self-improvement slog.
So, I’m asking: What are your dragons? What does facing them look like? What does it look like to face them with others? Finally, how do we celebrate facing them and ultimately overcoming them.
Again, in her transformative tome, *The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love*, bell hooks writes “Men need to understand that love can transform their lives. The transformative power of love is not reserved for women and children.”
Facing dragons is not about earning love or proving our worth, but to clear the rubble and step into something fuller, more joyful, and deeply human. We’re building the kind of community where men can name these dragons out loud and face them. Together.