hanspetermeyer.com

I am so proud of my Mom, Elizabeth Meyer ❤️
Her memoir, Coming Home, has just been published.
If you're interested in women's history, being a "Marginal Mennonite," growing up as the child of pioneers in Black Creek on Vancouver Island... I think you'll like it 🙂
Available online from Friesen Press (now that's a good Mennonite name!)...

Coming Home at the FriesenPress Bookstore We all have a story to tell, be it long or short, truly blessed or full of challenges. Coming Home tells just such a story, starting from the author’s humble beginnings as a shy, reclusive girl in a Mennonite community on Vancouver Island in the 1930s....

I am so proud of my Mom, Elizabeth Meyer ❤️
Her memoir, Coming Home, has just been published.
If you're interested in women's history, being a "Marginal Mennonite," growing up as the child of pioneers in Black Creek on Vancouver Island I think you'll like it 🙂

Coming Home is available online from Friesen Press (now that's a good Mennonite name!)...
https://bit.ly/3PttMwe

ps. The pic is of my father and mother in front of their new-to-them car, in front of the little house they (we) lived in. The year is 1959. The place, Black Creek.

How do you allow the deep learning that comes from feeling, fully, what this moment brings? How do you allow, fully, this moment to be your teacher?

Ps. 1-3 times a week I write a new chapter in this book about being a man in this culture, with these loves and challenges, this work and family, these passions. Every chapter starts with a question or set of questions for myself. If you'd like to be on the free "1000 early readers" list, please email me at [email protected]

Apprenticeship to Love, chapter 280 now published.
"Can I learn from a woman? Part I"

Every chapter has a question and a practice. Today's question: Do you know how you resist learning, how you resist receiving? Do you know how to turn this resistance into the flow that is required?

For many of us who are masculine-identified men, the resistance to feminine knowledge or wisdom is profound. For many of us its very subtle —to us. Not so subtle for the women in our lives (as I was reminded by the woman I love, recently). What happens when we sit with that resistance, and, eventually, allow a little more learning to happen?

In his 11 precepts men's coach and teacher John Wineland invites us to practice "the cultivation of wonder and awe." Nowhere is this more important than in those places where we take things for granted. And nowhere, in my experience and observation, do we take things more for granted than with the women and the feminine in our lives.

I like this article about Kevin Bieksa touting men's health in today's Province. We're not great —as men— at looking after our own health, or each others'. Guys like this, guys who play hockey, delight in the rough and tumble, are demonstrating what a different kind of masculinity can be. One that cares. One that isn't just about the rough and tumble.

Bieksa has a history here. It's worth reading. It's also worth checking out the Canadian Men's Health Foundation that he supports. Good resources at canadianmenshealthfoundation.ca

Please share. Because our health has a huge impact on our marriages, our kids, our friends, our communities —and, of course, ourselves. And, as I said, we're not so good at looking out for ourselves or each other.

Ps. I'd like to thank the Comox Valley Collective Magazine for making a place for articles about men's health in my community.

Healthy men, healthy families: Kevin Bieksa and Troy Stecher stand up for mental health | Flipboard theprovince.com - The grin that flashed across Troy Stecher's face Tuesday afternoon in the hallway of Richmond's Minoru Arena when Kevin Bieksa, a star of Stecher's …

It is a crooked path...
And I'm inviting you to join me on the "1000 early readers" of this book I'm writing.
https://sendfox.com/sacredbodiesca

What is your gift
to the world?

FOLLOWING UP ON: MEN, FRIENDSHIP, MENTORSHIP

A few days ago I sent an email to men, asking for help with an article I'm writing, part of my series on "men's health" (broadly defined). A version of this article will be published in Comox Valley Collective Magazine, a follow-up to my recent article on men’s groups.

With regard to the current article,

FIRST, thanks to those of you took a few minutes to fill in the survey. That really helps —and it's got me thinking about this question of "How important are men friends and men mentors, really?" The answer so far is that those who've responded value male friendships highly. For those who've been blessed with a mentor (again, broadly defined as a man who helps you find your way in this life, through work, marriage, s*x, parenting, career, etc), these guys have a huge impact on the quality of your lives.

SECOND, if you haven't added to the survey, please take a few minutes to do so here. The more men who respond, the better and more useful my article will be. Here's the link: https://forms.gle/SnPHnCtvrxzAuyq98

(If anything isn't clear to you or if there's a "required" answer and you don't have one, there is often an "other" option. You can answer "NA (not applicable) or "FOWQM" (f-off with the questions Meyer) in that space.

THIRD, where appropriate, please share with other men. The data on men and friendships and mentorships and their impact on our health is significant. Even raising the question of men and friendship or men and mentorship starts to make some subtle changes happen.

FOURTH, I'm collecting articles on broadly defined "men's health issues" on the Flipboard reader app. I invite you to take a look. The more we learn about ourselves, the better we can look after ourselves, our friends, our families, our marriages. Here's the link for that: https://flipboard.com//menshealth-j2j5av3lz?from=share&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=curator_share

Thank you,

-Rev. Hans

ps. One of my favourite recent articles on men's health is an interview with Scott Galloway on "Masculinity needs that 'big dick energy'." https://flipboard.com//menshealth-j2j5av3lz/the-current-masculinity-needs-that-big-dick-energy-scott-galloway-on-apple-p/a-EdMMZ8D0RqygomxueYQ9lw%3Aa%3A20922122-765e3d06d7%2Fapple.com](https://flipboard.com//menshealth-j2j5av3lz/the-current-masculinity-needs-that-big-dick-energy-scott-galloway-on-apple-p/a-EdMMZ8D0RqygomxueYQ9lw:a:20922122-765e3d06d7/apple.com)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

#menshealth | @hanspetermeyer | Flipboard Explore hanspetermeyer's magazine " ", followed by 52 people on Flipboard. See more stories about Edmonton Oilers, Violence Against Women, Relationships.

MEN, FRIENDSHIP, MENTORSHIP
Dear men, I need your help! I'm writing a series of articles on broadly-defined "men's health issues."
My next article is about men and friendship and mentorship. A few minutes of your time with this short survey is a BIG help. The opportunity to do a follow up conversation is also helpful.

**Please share with other men.

Thank you.

Men's health issues research Thank you for your interest! I'm writing a series of articles on broadly defined "men's health issues." Recently I wrote about men’s groups. My next article will be about men and friendships and mentorships. Your answers to these questions are confidential. Unless you choose to allow me to use you...

I am watching —and enjoying— professional hockey again after 40+ years. It's so much faster and "cleaner" than I remember. But still, the assumption is that you have to be "mean" to win.

Last night I read about how youth participation in organized hockey is falling off, significantly, in Canada. The article focused on the (very real) cost in money and time of having a kid in hockey. But no mention made of the cost on physical and emotional (and spiritual) health of these kids. I talk hockey (and other things) regularly with a man whose son was and remains active in sports. "But I kept him away from hockey. I didn't want him to get hurt." That hurt happens at several levels, I would argue.

It's a great game, this hockey thing. Fast. Highly skilled. Exciting. I see so much positive change from when I last watched. But the assumption that we only win by being our worst selves persists.

Interestingly, I heard a coach (who has, somewhat ironically, built a team known for its borderline "legal" physical play) talk about one of his big stars. This player, the coach says, does not need to be mean to win. "He's very competitive," but not "mean." This player grew up in a non-Canadian hockey system. Are we creating opportunities for boys to be competitive without being mean?

For me this is about how we define success and even "masculinity" as men, and boys. I see so much progress, not just in hockey. But I despair at the persistence of the old mythology. It's alive and well, not just in the rink, but in our families and our neighbourhoods.