Some thoughts About Male Gatherings

Hello Reader,

Lately I've been thinking about male social groups. We all have the guys we get together with for a round at the pub, a round of golf, a few games of laser tag or whatever else your pleasure might happen to be. Some of us also have groups of a more serious nature like alcoholic's anonymous (and all the other anonymous groups), church groups, Men's Shed groups and so on and so forth. Most of the latter tend to have a specific undertone to them like encouraging a particular religion or being court ordered, etc.

I must say though everything I've read and seen about Men's Sheds is very encouraging and I really like what they are doing. However many men aren't the sort to enjoy going to a shed and the associated activities. I know Men's Sheds do more than just building bird-houses and spice racks but at the conceptual level many younger men aren't like those of 40 years ago when more men were expected to work with their hands and know how to build things. These days many of us men, especial in metropolitan areas, prefer more cerebral pursuits.

So what form could a constructive group take to help men come together, have a good time and work through some of the many issues surrounding man's lives these days. I imagine a group, let's tentatively call it "The Gentry", where men can gather and discuss things that have been going on in their lives or that are coming up and how they can best handle them in a classy and rational way. Despite the title it would be informal but the purpose would be to help men be the best men that they can be. We all make mistakes and I can't speak for all men but I know I have carried (and still carry) many of the things I've done wrong for years, even decades. It's hard to let them go and for the most part I've carried them alone. Therapy or psychiatric help can resolve some of them but in my experience these things don't often give you any closure on an issue. A group like this would have been of great help to me and I suspect would be of help to many others.

L James.