Jon Tyson
Helping Our Kids Enjoy Adolescence While Moving Beyond It
One book written on this that I ’ ve read multiple times is Adam ’ s Return by Richard Rohr . Rohr writes about five rules of manhood , five definitive things that have been poured into men in almost every other culture to help shape them and form them away from childish ways . These rules are :
1 . Life is hard . 2 . You are not important . 3 . Your life is not about you . 4 . You are not in control . 5 . You are going to die .
Sounds like wonderful news , right ? Stick with me .
These rules are all true , no matter how hard they might sound , and almost all cultures have had ways of helping men understand these rules — except modern culture .
What does our culture tell us ? Life should be easy , you ’ re important , your life is about you , you should try to control everything , and you can live forever . And as a result , all of that emphasis on the self and self- fulfillment produces an extended adolescence , where men never grow
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