Day 6, Cycle 2
Rest
What a man requires more than anything else is respect. Respect from society. Respect from other men. Respect from women.
And respect is earned.
The reason why women think that respect is a thing they deserve is because they have been given value at the moment of their birth. They are given opportunities from day one and it is up to them to cash their cheque or throw it away. But who am I to judge them? I have my own short-comings to attend to.
A man though has to become someone to be given respect. And it comes from his accomplishments. What have you done to have respect given to you? What value have you provided to earn your name?
In the search for love, whether self-love or any other form of love, we have forgotten the value of self-worth and self-esteem through masculinity. Of initiation into manhood by standing trials. Of weathering the storms of daily life from lessons gathered through such vital customs.
Many rituals are there for such trials. For now I choose to pass through the heat of dragon fire and the crashing of total breakdown. To be between the anvil and hammer. To melt me and mould me from a broken weapon into the sword that is whole again.
I could say that time is late. I could say it is in vain. But what else do I have to lose when I have nothing to give but myself? Will I wait for death to embrace me without metamorphosis or will I choose to die having tried despite all odds?
I will choose the latter.