This post is an entry in the Writing Contest: You Are Enough, hosted by Positive Writer.
One of the pioneers of the
Metaphysical field, Neville Goddard, once wrote in his book, The Power of
Awareness, “In other words, concentrate on those thoughts or moods which you
deliberately determine. Then those things that now restrict you will fade and
drop away. The day you achieve control of the movements of your attention in the
subjective world, you are master of your fate.” So, what is a man
supposed to do as a father in the new millennium? If fathers of
modern-day society were more actively involved in parenting their children,
especially their son’s life, would over ninety percent of all prison inmates
incarcerated in the United States be men? Would over ninety percent
of all homicides be committed by males, or all mass homicides be committed by
males under the age of twenty-five? If fathers expressed more love and affection
to their children throughout their lives, would mental illnesses and suicide
rates, domestic violence and aggression towards women, or drug overdoses
continue to rise to all-time highs in American society today?
The role of American men in the workplace, and at home in the family has been dramatically transformed over the past decades. There is a wide range of research and statistics related to the effect that fathers can have on their children. A father’s expression of love and active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact, even if fathers do not share a home with their children. The love, affection, support and active involvement of a father, or lack thereof, may therefore answer, and present solutions to some of the most alarming and detrimental problems plaguing society and families today.
There are, and have been many people living in societies all over the world with a false male role belief system. Different cultures define men in healthy and unhealthy ways. Generations of boys and men have been wired into the 21st century and programmed with false identities, outdated definitions of masculinity, and a false male role belief system. Consequently, many boys have grown up with crippling and unrealistic expectations of what a man and father is. Then, later have to deal with the sometimes-harsh reality of results from negative and self-defeating thinking patterns. Too many boys and men hold the belief that their value is based on their job, the money they earn, their reputation and status, the material possessions they have acquired, or the number of women they have sex with. Little boys have been told when they are growing up that they have to be brave and strong, and cannot cry, or express feelings or affection without appearing weak. In essence, boys have been conditioned to think and believe that they have to suppress or deny their emotions if they are to going “make it” as a man in today’s world.
Two-parent households and the traditional American nuclear family that includes a couple and their dependent children have been on the decline for decades in the U.S. Consequently, the rates of divorce, remarriage, cohabitating partners, and single-parent households have continued to rise since the 1960s. Not only are Americans having fewer children, but they are having children later in life, and family structures, including the circumstances surrounding parenthood, have also changed dramatically. The U.S. Census Bureau (2017) reported that nearly 20 million children under the age of 18 live with only one parent, primarily their mother. However, the data also showed that the percentage of children living with just their father increased to an all-time high in U.S. history from over 12 percent to just over 16 percent between 2007 and 2017.
The summer of the year 2000 forever changed my outlook on life, after I survived a life-threatening car wreck and awakened from a non-responsive coma. My personal injury was no accident, however. I never saw the Dodge Ram pickup truck racing against a Chevy Camaro through a red light. Nor, did I know that Dodge Ram pickup truck had t-boned into the driver’s side of my car and pinned me to a traffic signal post requiring the Jaws of Life® to extract me. Although, the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that I sustained reset some of the negative thinking patterns and false beliefs of masculinity and fatherhood that I had held for so many years. It also aligned the re-marriage of my parents after they had been divorced for over 18 years! After their reconciliation, my first son was born and became the first in three generations of boys from my family who met his biological paternal grandfather. The generational cycle of absent and non-involved fathers and grandfathers has finally been broken.
I am a single father and have confidently faced and overcome the most traumatic and stressful life-changing events with faith, acceptance, desire, determination, and my subjective attention directed on changing negative circumstances into positive outcomes. As the new millennium started and the 20th century ended, the definition of masculinity and the role of a father with his children changed for me. A father’s expression of love and active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact, even if fathers do not share a home with their children. Neville Goddard wrote: “Live your life in a sublime spirit of confidence and determination; disregard appearances, conditions, in fact, all evidence of your senses that deny the fulfillment of your desire. Rest in the assumption that you already are what you want to be, for in that determined assumption you and your Infinite Being are merged in creative unity, and with your Infinite Being (God) all things are possible. God never fails”. Regardless of your relationship status, we all can play a role in creating a healthier family life and society for generations of children growing up in the 21st century. My expression of love and active involvement in my children’s life, especially in my son's life has never failed since he was born, and it has had a lasting and positive impact on him for sure! © Infinite Love and Gratitude - The underlying claim to copyright ownership in this published work is reserved for Barre Morris II.
The role of American men in the workplace, and at home in the family has been dramatically transformed over the past decades. There is a wide range of research and statistics related to the effect that fathers can have on their children. A father’s expression of love and active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact, even if fathers do not share a home with their children. The love, affection, support and active involvement of a father, or lack thereof, may therefore answer, and present solutions to some of the most alarming and detrimental problems plaguing society and families today.
There are, and have been many people living in societies all over the world with a false male role belief system. Different cultures define men in healthy and unhealthy ways. Generations of boys and men have been wired into the 21st century and programmed with false identities, outdated definitions of masculinity, and a false male role belief system. Consequently, many boys have grown up with crippling and unrealistic expectations of what a man and father is. Then, later have to deal with the sometimes-harsh reality of results from negative and self-defeating thinking patterns. Too many boys and men hold the belief that their value is based on their job, the money they earn, their reputation and status, the material possessions they have acquired, or the number of women they have sex with. Little boys have been told when they are growing up that they have to be brave and strong, and cannot cry, or express feelings or affection without appearing weak. In essence, boys have been conditioned to think and believe that they have to suppress or deny their emotions if they are to going “make it” as a man in today’s world.
Two-parent households and the traditional American nuclear family that includes a couple and their dependent children have been on the decline for decades in the U.S. Consequently, the rates of divorce, remarriage, cohabitating partners, and single-parent households have continued to rise since the 1960s. Not only are Americans having fewer children, but they are having children later in life, and family structures, including the circumstances surrounding parenthood, have also changed dramatically. The U.S. Census Bureau (2017) reported that nearly 20 million children under the age of 18 live with only one parent, primarily their mother. However, the data also showed that the percentage of children living with just their father increased to an all-time high in U.S. history from over 12 percent to just over 16 percent between 2007 and 2017.
The summer of the year 2000 forever changed my outlook on life, after I survived a life-threatening car wreck and awakened from a non-responsive coma. My personal injury was no accident, however. I never saw the Dodge Ram pickup truck racing against a Chevy Camaro through a red light. Nor, did I know that Dodge Ram pickup truck had t-boned into the driver’s side of my car and pinned me to a traffic signal post requiring the Jaws of Life® to extract me. Although, the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that I sustained reset some of the negative thinking patterns and false beliefs of masculinity and fatherhood that I had held for so many years. It also aligned the re-marriage of my parents after they had been divorced for over 18 years! After their reconciliation, my first son was born and became the first in three generations of boys from my family who met his biological paternal grandfather. The generational cycle of absent and non-involved fathers and grandfathers has finally been broken.
I am a single father and have confidently faced and overcome the most traumatic and stressful life-changing events with faith, acceptance, desire, determination, and my subjective attention directed on changing negative circumstances into positive outcomes. As the new millennium started and the 20th century ended, the definition of masculinity and the role of a father with his children changed for me. A father’s expression of love and active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact, even if fathers do not share a home with their children. Neville Goddard wrote: “Live your life in a sublime spirit of confidence and determination; disregard appearances, conditions, in fact, all evidence of your senses that deny the fulfillment of your desire. Rest in the assumption that you already are what you want to be, for in that determined assumption you and your Infinite Being are merged in creative unity, and with your Infinite Being (God) all things are possible. God never fails”. Regardless of your relationship status, we all can play a role in creating a healthier family life and society for generations of children growing up in the 21st century. My expression of love and active involvement in my children’s life, especially in my son's life has never failed since he was born, and it has had a lasting and positive impact on him for sure! © Infinite Love and Gratitude - The underlying claim to copyright ownership in this published work is reserved for Barre Morris II.
