My Men’s Right of Passage (MROP) at Ghost Ranch hosted our mob of about a hundred initiates and the experience was special. On the day of our fasting and silent wandering, I  paired up with a man about my age and off we went.

We are completing our second month of the Soul Brothers program. Some reflections from our brothers concern a sense of sorrow when the brother they are paired with becomes unresponsive. I think back to when I proposed this idea to Brian and Chuck and how I wanted the bonds created from our Mary Oliver writing retreat to stay strong during the long days between councils. I am not a man who easily trusts other men, and I truly know the sorrow that comes from the unreciprocated bravery and vulnerability extended to connect with another man. I never want Illuman to be a source of broken bonds that can exacerbate the pandemic of loneliness that plagues most men in America. So, I have some ideas.

I don't like the warfare words often used in resisting cancer. I don't feel like I am fighting for my life. It's not a struggle. I am alive and going through life, and death is not separate from the experience. Richard Rohr has made it very clear that the mystery surrounding death is too important for dualistic interpretations.