Discernment Weekends
for young men wanting to discern their direction in life and life-commitment choice.
Information about the weekends can be found at http://www.whatsalifefor.com/
The last weekend was Friday 12 to Sunday 14 October, 2012 at “The Cliffs”, Shoreham, Victoria.
Two men joined us for that discernment weekend and gained clarity around their questions.
One offered this poem The Origins of Fire (a poem for men) by Adrian Scott, from his book, The Call of The Unwritten.
It is published on The Drumbeat – Men As Learners and Elders (MALEs) site for men http://74.220.23.143/menaslearnerselders/the-drumbeat
The Origins of Fire
(a poem for men)
The origins of fire lie hidden in that dark,
secret place where our ancestors stole fire from the gods.
This incendiary power can ignite the fuse in your genes,
illuminating the lonely shadow side of your living.
I have never known a man who doesn’t test the ashes of last night’s fire to gauge the chances of re-ignition.
When a man has expended the fires of youth and spent the fuel of innocence
when he has entered the age of dust and ashes,
he is heir to the dissolving tears of grief.
This is no easy passage,
many will try to frighten you with brimstone and burning,
but I say to you that hell is not a destination;
it is the subway of the burnt ones.
It is the blazing of those who are holy,
holes scorched into the fabric of the ego,
holes you can trust.
This is the true fire of wounded brotherhood,
of breath-taking together,
of birthing a wisdom from the embers of each day’s burning,
to fan to flame the sparks,
fire for the earth – and how I wish it were burning already.
Adrian Scott, The Call of the Unwritten, 28