A short and sweet article from a guy (not me) about guys in today’s world but also from the 70s. We (overall) haven’t changed. (I think it is hard for guys to change for a bunch of reasons. Hopefully, I can address those assumptions and influences in a more detailed way soon. In the meantime, you kinda get the gist of the struggle in this article.)
Here we are in relationships with women, who, as a group have changed (I think progressed) tremendously in 50 years. Many of them really want guys to grow so they can relate better. But, then, bam! What the?!? A lot of us get stuck. (Plenty of guys really work at this but many of use, well, you know, don’t seem to.) Guys want to know how to make those changes, to please their wife. They ask me regularly. What’s the answer? It is complex, but this article gives a clue (hint: it is in our mindset).
Jeff, the author, bases the theme of the article on the lyrics of a song from the TV show All in the Family. The words go like this:
“Boy, the way Glenn Miller played
songs that made the hit parade
Guys like me we had it made
(hint) Those were the days
Didn’t need no welfare state
ev’rybody pulled his weight
Gee our old LaSalle ran great
(hint) Those were the days
(hint) And you knew who you were then
girls were girls and men were men
Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again
People seemed to be content
fifty dollars paid the rent
freaks were in a circus tent
(hint) Those were the days
Take a little Sunday spin
Go to watch the Dodgers win
Have yourself a dandy day
that cost you under a fin
Hair was short and skirts were long
Kate Smith really sold a song
I don’t know just what went wrong
(hint) Those were the days“
He then writes, “If you’re like me, you skipped over reading the lyrics and jumped down to this sentence. No, go back and read the lyrics. They say a lot about what’s happening in the world right now.”
As a matter of fact, you may want to go and read the article published at the Good Men Project. Like I said it is short and sweet. Ya just might learn a lot.
For more help with your relationship, to learn some skills to do it differently, contact Max.
Be safe and healthy and connected!