If you were to describe what it means to be a man in one word, what would it be and why?
"I would choose balanced because it does not identify either way with masculine or feminine it exists as a human being that embraces and accepts in the light of compassion the oneness of every person to feel worthy to just be authentic and self-express wholly... Balance holds a space for people to be self-express authentically."
Word: Balance
Occupation: Yoga Teacher
Age: 44
From: Shawnee, Kansas
Who is the manliest person you know and why?
"I have a friend named Jay; he seems balanced. I look to him for guidance sometimes... He is one of the manliest people I know and is somebody who lives his life through this expression of balance, and he is one of the best people at that. Men who are willing to be authentic, soft, genuine, and strong, but at the same time not afraid to be vulnerable... There is a lot of strength in vulnerability. "
How much of a role do you think your father had to play in your perspective of masculinity?
"It was everything because I measured every man I ever met with that experience to my dad and what would he say about this. I would say he was the benchmark. Eventually, I got to the place where I could question did he know everything? Could another man know as much or more, or offer a different perspective. But yea he played a huge role. "
What advice would you give your younger self about masculinity?
"Regardless of your experience in your life, within you, you are an expression of both the masculine and the feminine, and your journey through life will be to remember that. To remember your masculinity and to remember your femininity and the balance of your power to weave the two together. If you ever feel whether it's an identification with one over the other or an alienation of one or the other is simply to not acknowledge or forget that everything is there, it's just this life is about remembering the balance. It's not something somebody can take away from you. It's not something that somebody can give to you."
