I spent the weekend away, at a quiet pub/hotel in Hunstanton, a town I have always had a fondness for, and where I'd once hoped to move - the first time, I lost my job just before I was due to confirm a rental application; the second time, I was exclusively looking to buy, as I had pets by then, and nothing was in the limited price range I had available.
As things have progressed with my health, Hunstanton would no longer work as somewhere to live; the wi-fi across the town is neither strong nor reliable (the pub's wi-fi was actually down when I was there, meaning they were cash only, which is a feature throughout the town, especially for smaller businesses), so remote work isn't really an option, and that happens to be what I need to fully accommodate my disabilities and health issues.
I've come to peace with the fact that Hunstanton, for the next 25yrs at least, will only be somewhere I visit.
As things have progressed with my health, Hunstanton would no longer work as somewhere to live; the wi-fi across the town is neither strong nor reliable (the pub's wi-fi was actually down when I was there, meaning they were cash only, which is a feature throughout the town, especially for smaller businesses), so remote work isn't really an option, and that happens to be what I need to fully accommodate my disabilities and health issues.
I've come to peace with the fact that Hunstanton, for the next 25yrs at least, will only be somewhere I visit.
While I was away, I came across Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing on TV; during one episode, Bob Mortimer made the following observation about andropause - the "male menopause":
"I reckon it is a thing, y'know, because when I was younger, I had this raging fire of ambition and daring and curiousity...and now, it's like there's this very small, frail little flame, and it feels like it could easily be snuffed out, so I stay quiet and shuttered in at home, just guarding this little flame." The thing is, this isn't "the male menopause" - or, rather, it is, but andropause isn't what we think it is. This - and andropause - is the natural transition to the Magician or fully realised Lover; the Lover who cares for the state of hearth and home, who romances by candlelight; the Magician who keeps the flame of sorcery and the things of the mind.
The bright, high fire of youth is the fire of the Warrior, or the childish, selfish Lover, the Lover in his shadow self, the teenage boy Lover, not the Lover as an adult man.
Many - perhaps all - of the problems in society today can be laid at the door of the created belief that andropause is a bad thing, which has meant that only childish Lovers are presenting themselves for romantic relationships, not adult Lovers who have realised the nuances of passion, and the skill of keeping flames alive.
Men are not meant to remain as teenagers, consumed by the drive of the Warrior or the childish demands of the selfish Lover. We are supposed to mature into either the Magician or adult Lover, and, through them, to the wisdom of the King.
"I reckon it is a thing, y'know, because when I was younger, I had this raging fire of ambition and daring and curiousity...and now, it's like there's this very small, frail little flame, and it feels like it could easily be snuffed out, so I stay quiet and shuttered in at home, just guarding this little flame." The thing is, this isn't "the male menopause" - or, rather, it is, but andropause isn't what we think it is. This - and andropause - is the natural transition to the Magician or fully realised Lover; the Lover who cares for the state of hearth and home, who romances by candlelight; the Magician who keeps the flame of sorcery and the things of the mind.
The bright, high fire of youth is the fire of the Warrior, or the childish, selfish Lover, the Lover in his shadow self, the teenage boy Lover, not the Lover as an adult man.
Many - perhaps all - of the problems in society today can be laid at the door of the created belief that andropause is a bad thing, which has meant that only childish Lovers are presenting themselves for romantic relationships, not adult Lovers who have realised the nuances of passion, and the skill of keeping flames alive.
Men are not meant to remain as teenagers, consumed by the drive of the Warrior or the childish demands of the selfish Lover. We are supposed to mature into either the Magician or adult Lover, and, through them, to the wisdom of the King.
.jfif)
No comments:
Post a Comment