I just finished watching A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks. I was brought along into the magic and substance of what Mr. Rogers brought to the world when he spoke this line: “We are trying to give people a positive way of dealing with their feelings.” It holds many parallels to what therapy is all about.

We are living in extraordinary times right now. The last several months have moved us from disbelief and denial to acceptance of the “new reality” of a pandemic gripping our world. We as men are struggling like everyone else to make sense of this new threat to our health, safety and livelihoods. An additional challenge is to take good care of ourselves so that we have the resource to care for our families and others in need.

 Beyond the action scenes and good versus evil elements this is also a father and son picture.  The Joneses are archetypes of the father and son common to all fathers and sons.

We have a need to take literal or mythic journeys, transform ourselves and come back to our day to day lives with new wisdom. And when the topic turned to those who are mavericks in our society and what they can contribute he identified himself as having always been a maverick.

We have just passed the summer equinox and had the longest day of the year. We are enjoying the fullness of summer. What does that mean and what are supposed to do with this season of light? It is a time to connect socially with many family gatherings, weddings and parties scheduled during the warmer weather. For those that suffer from SAD, seasonal affective disorder, it is a relief to bask in the sun’s warm glow.

I suggest you watch the Ted Talk on You Tube featuring Warren Farrell. It is titled: The Boy Crisis: A Sobering Look at the State of our Boys. In the talk he addresses what he calls the boy crisis in our country. Farrell exposes the causes for the high levels of violence, suicide and lack of purpose experienced by boys in our culture.

One of the greatest challenges for men is to learn how to stop approaching every conversation with their wife, or partner as an opportunity to solve their problem.