Mindful Gentlemen

08/27/2025

Today is a reminder that while we all want nice air to breathe, healthy water to drink, a stable planet for our children to grow up on, and for our children to be safe...we vote for politicians and support corporations that do the exact opposite. Again and again.

07/08/2025

"Imagine if they had grown up in an environment where their emotional needs and safety were a priority. Where they felt loved and nurtured when they were vulnerable. Where they were modeled kindness, compassion, and empathy. Where they were seen, heard, and validated for who they were, without expectation and pressure to do or be something else..."

🔗 in the comments.

06/07/2025

"What most of us don’t realize is that we’re not just loving our partners. We’re trying to heal through them."

How do we begin to untangle this weight—and return to love without assigning someone else the job of fixing us? We start by

06/02/2025

"I can't blame myself anymore. It wasn't my fault. That six-year-old girl was not to blame for your disappearance, nor was that 16-year-old or that 26-year-old. I know that now."

You weren't around much after the age of six, so I never got to attend the Daddy-Daughter Dance. This realization led to a spiral of sorts. I started thinking about all the things I never got to do, or experience,

05/28/2025

"We're choosing our level of peace;
the scent on our pillow each morning;
whether we're a 'shoes on' or 'shoes off' household;
the childhood trauma we'll be forced to face..."

To me, love—the deep, long-lasting kind, the kind that survives—is a series of choices. It is knowing the good and the bad, the ins and the outs, the ups and the downs of someone and deciding to

05/14/2025

"As men, we don’t get the privilege of waking up one day feeling like a stranger has hijacked our body. We don’t get to experience our internal thermostat going full nuclear meltdown at 3 a.m. We don’t suddenly find ourselves standing in the kitchen, crying over a f**king tea bag for no apparent reason. But our partners do. And the worst thing we can do is stand there looking confused..."

Read it here 👉 https://elejrnl.com?p=4149999

05/12/2025

"Sometimes, the only way to evolve is to be miscast. To be misunderstood. To be forced to ask yourself not, 'Am I what they say?' but 'What if I am? What do I do now?'"

The word

05/01/2025

"...honestly, I don’t know that I know a single human being right now who isn’t experiencing some form of burnout, or everyday depression, as we read the daily news headlines and try to cope with living our lives and not letting democracy fall and autocrats take the wheel. It’s…a lot."

...

04/16/2025

"Loving someone is risky; our affections may not be reciprocated, and that’s painful. But when I value myself, I’m not dependent on anyone else to prop up my self-esteem..."

Some men seem to have the misguided idea that having emotions, or showing vulnerability, would be seen as weakness; but women friends have told me that in their eyes a man who is willing and able to share his deepest feelings is both brave and strong.

03/30/2025

"Listening to him speak was like watching emotional intelligence in action."

The conversation was full of relationship green flags, especially from Blanco, who spoke so highly of his partner while also getting real about what it takes to make

03/24/2025

"In the past, masculinity was held with reverence. It was passed down through guidance, ritual, and the wisdom of elders. Boys were shown how to hold power with responsibility, how to protect without harm, and how to lead with the heart. Today, something very different is rising, rooted in ideology and a dangerous misuse of power."

This brings us into the often discussed topic of toxic masculinity, but what I see, more truthfully, is wounded masculinity. Today’s boys are not offered a sacred path into

03/10/2025

"It takes more energy for the receiver to process this dumping than it does for the emotional dumper to pay for our meal at a restaurant or lend us their car when ours breaks down. But as usual, invisible labour is less valued than what can be measured..."

And if you've realized you are an emotional dumper, I invite you to notice when you start to push others away or overload your friends with your emotional baggage. No judgment here—we’ve