Recently I read a sad story about loneliness, which as a mortality risk factor is currently ranked as high as smoking. Many diseases are either caused or triggered by loneliness — Alzheimers, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and neurodegenerative diseases, tumors and cancer. The emotional isolation of loneliness is also being attributed to an increase in suicides, particularly in adolescent boys and middle-aged men … all this because of social conditioning.
Boys know by late adolescence that their close male friendships, and even their emotional acuity, put them at risk of being labelled girly, immature, or gay. Niobe Way
It’s literally a sad society that doesn’t encourage emotional male bonding. May we all do our part to remove this social burden from everyone’s shoulders. Men and women, if you don’t yet know the true healing capacity and liberation brought about by shedding tears, then you are perpetuating the disease of loneliness. Go cry on a male friend’s shoulders. If you fear vulnerability, then exposing yourself by expressing your emotions is exactly the path you need to take.
Liberation comes when we turn and walk forward into that which we typically resist. My poem below expresses this path of release and relief.
Stand You Naked
Harmony balances the scales between
over control and out of control.
Even though control is futile, its arising
signals resistance to the emerging moment,
to a fear of being forever lost in chaotic drama.
The disease of conditioning biases emerging experience
halting its true purpose — to reflect authenticity.
Feeding negative self-belief never healed a woeful soul.
Suffering great misery does not diminish until
someone loves our fear out. Be that someone.
Feed only positive thoughts, positive words, positive deeds.
Race toward yourself, say yes to each step, each healing.
Uncovering truth stands you naked with love.
For more on uncovering and authentically expressing your emotions, click here.
