Perverse Exuberance
In the shower this morning (funny how much deep thought I seem to engage in in that setting) I had a thought about what I sometimes think of as toxic masculinity or testosterone poisoning (more on that later).
I had a vision of a young boy, full of life and exuberance, bursting joyfully out into the world, not knowing his own strength and testing the limits of his power.
As he passes, he is unconscious that he knocks over antique vases, topples the carefully built block cities of other children, and tramples the labyrinthine nests of ants underfoot.
Aggressiveness, irritability, bullying, sexual entitlement, narcissistically reckless behaviors all seem to me to be carry-overs of this exuberance beyond their useful role in first encountering the world and finding out where we fit (or don't) in it.
Maintaining the unconscious stance necessary to continue down those paths beyond the initial encounters is toxic to the self, to humanity, and to our planet.
Once we encounter the world and others, it's necessary to scale those back, to temper the exuberance into a more mature stance of empathy, courage, determination, and awareness.
I read a book some years ago that addresses many of these notions:
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine
-- Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette
Recommended.
I had a vision of a young boy, full of life and exuberance, bursting joyfully out into the world, not knowing his own strength and testing the limits of his power.
As he passes, he is unconscious that he knocks over antique vases, topples the carefully built block cities of other children, and tramples the labyrinthine nests of ants underfoot.
Aggressiveness, irritability, bullying, sexual entitlement, narcissistically reckless behaviors all seem to me to be carry-overs of this exuberance beyond their useful role in first encountering the world and finding out where we fit (or don't) in it.
Maintaining the unconscious stance necessary to continue down those paths beyond the initial encounters is toxic to the self, to humanity, and to our planet.
Once we encounter the world and others, it's necessary to scale those back, to temper the exuberance into a more mature stance of empathy, courage, determination, and awareness.
I read a book some years ago that addresses many of these notions:
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine
-- Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette
Recommended.
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