During one of his college campus talks he asked this of the group.
After a momentary moment of silence, one student offered up, “How bout’ Ice Cube?”
“I’ll take that.”
Two cats, cruising down their lane of life.
Lots of room for maneuvering, zigging, zagging… putting the pedal down when they hit a straight away.
The Emerging Man and his lane… depending on your courage level… may look like bumper cars, or you may still be sitting, idling on a side road waiting for an opening.
Myself… I’ve been feeling like my exits I’m supposed to be using have been CLOSED!
So I’ve had to put my cup in the cup holder, grab the wheel with both hands and do some drivin’!
Funny how you pay closer attention to the traffic when you are intent on getting somewhere.
As I look closer at the “manliness industry” I’ve noticed most of the social media dudes all have young kids.
And so… most of their followers are dads with young kids. Looking for manliness because the dads of today know they missed something growing up… and they want better for their kids.
Me… I drove the hell out of that lane.
Now I have adult children… and I find that the “young dad with the young kids” lane… isn’t quite the lane my truck fits into today.
I’ve been finding… the young man, on his own, aged from his late thirties to his early twenties… with a college degree… and without a college degree… have been the ones who seem to be making room to let me into their lane.
Asking me for advice or clarification on a question they may have, like the question posed to me recently, “Why do Muslims not like Jewish people?”
Or the other question this week, “Do you have any books that would be considered classics, like ‘The Old Man and the Sea’?”
Do I have books…
So what is our job once we determine our lane… mine seems to be communicating brain information, whether that is garnered from Hemingway, Marcus Aurelius, or the history of Hagar and Ishmael.
Being an Emerging Man your journey is one where you are trying to determine what kind of lion you are.
Are you young, middle aged, verging on old, or are old?
Finding the correct coalition of lions may not seem obvious at first.
I’m verging on old, Old Man fits… but… mentally I am in, relatively speaking, the same boat EMOTIONALLY with this group of lions aged 22 to 35ish.
So I can RELATE… with where they are at.
It is rare that a lion coalition is made up of complete strangers.
Usually, a simple, two lion coalition is made up of brothers, or a couple of close cousins… who were in the same… “just got kicked out of the pride” boat.
Maybe you have something a bit more specific to offer those you find yourself driving along side down your specific lane.
Can you teach firearm training? Welding? Archery? Or some other trade oriented skill?
Maybe you are a theologian and can unwrap that Hagar and Ishmael story better than I can.
Now… what if you are one of the wandering lions aged 22-35ish who feels he has questions?
They can be any kind of question.
Biblical, Classic Book, How do I train my dog, There’s this girl, Where does my money go… How can I be a better man?
Or if you are a young man with young kids your gonna have lots of questions… especially when they are three and under.
Here is a bit of advice I gave to the young man who wanted the classic books…
“Remember, you can’t learn everything.”
If you are an Emerging Man, a young dad, or a lost lion… there is a lane for you to merge into, where you won’t have to cross multiple lanes of traffic in order to fit into.
If you read my stuff I hope I can ENCOURAGE, EQUIP & ENGAGE you to… as my twenty something, youngest daughter says, when she see’s a slight crack in traffic…
“PINCH THE GAP DAD… PINCH THE GAP!!”
Hit the gas kid, let that engine roar, like the lion you are!
theemergingman.com 