Michele Woodward Consulting

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Happy Dude's Day

I love men.I love teenage guys with their fierce self assertion. I like 20-something guys whose eyes shine bright with discovery. Men in their 30s, with a baby in a sling on their chest - dig 'em. Forty year old guys who coach Little League with that perfect recipe of toughness and pats on the fanny - nice! I absolutely adore men in their 50s, with their deep understanding of the world and how they fit into it. Men in their 60s, 70s, 80s - the frisky devils! I can't wait to sit next to them at a dinner party.I do love men.Thanks to my son, my brothers, my dad, my guy friends, I really understand men, and appreciate how different they are. Because they really are. Men just think differently.Sure there is research that shows that male brains are wired one way and female brains are wired another. And there is research which shows that there is no difference at all.But from just living, I can tell you - there's a difference.And I'm glad there is.Cuz, as stated before, I get a kick out of men.Back in 2009, I gave you What Do Men Want?, and in that piece I wrote:

I believe strongly that what men want most from women is safety and deep acceptance. For much of his life, a man may have been told that he’s too smelly, or too dirty, or thinks about sex too much. He’s also told he needs to be in touch with his feelings, talk it out, feed the baby — while he’s being told to be strong, a lone wolf, and eat what he kills.A man often gets the message that whatever he does, he’s gonna be wrong. Some how, some way, he’s wrong.But when women provide a safe place for a man to be all the things he is, right and wrong, smelly and sexy, and give him deep acceptance of his quest, then men can fully relax, be authentic, be themselves… and be happy.

I believe that just as strongly today.Men need space to be men - whatever that looks like for them.Father's Day, for both men and women, is a day to be thankful for the men in our lives. And to honor them fully, we must allow them to be who they are - fully.Utter acceptance. What a gift.So, let's make today about totally digging guys, in all their dude-y dude-ness. You in?