The Redwood Men's Center Annual Men’s Conference

Or Are We Already Standing in the New Life?

“I have a feeling that my boat
has struck, down there in the depths,
against a great thing.
And nothing happened!
Nothing…Silence…Waves….
— Nothing happened?
Or has everything happened,
and are we standing now, quietly, in the new life?”
– Juan Ramon Jimenez

May 25-28, 2012
Memorial Day Weekend
Mendocino Woodlands Camp

We know the loss of certainty, and we search for how to serve something larger than ourselves. What is mine to do? The recent economic disasters, political mudslinging, and discouragement in our culture challenge us to find not only our own ground but solid ground for our communities and the world. What are we waiting for: a decent job, getting back to “normal,” the real estate market to rebound, the healing of an important relationship, a new leader, enlightenment, confidence, clarity, courage . . . ? Perhaps we already stand quietly in the new life — with everything we need to fully engage our lives and the planet. “Let us rise to play a greater part — though it must be through bitter searching of the heart.” (Frank Scott)

Together as men we will help each other align our passion with our purpose — while also searching the tension between soul satisfaction and the allure of all those lesser pleasures that numb our emptiness, our restlessness, our shame, our unlived lives. Ancient myths and wisdom traditions will guide us. Laughter, song, redwoods, and good food will buoy us. We will share our stories and enter those of other men, from youth to elderhood, as we each seek to answer this question, put to us by David Whyte: “What urgency draws you to your one love, what shape waits in the seed of you to spread its branches against a future sky?”

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