May I ask you to refresh my memory... twin issue?

Yeah... I had a feeling that Inner Child stuff wouldn't go down easy. Don't want to keep hammering that nail, but from what I've learned, all of us, men and women, have what Inner Child in us; a facet of our personalities, if you will. It's the playfull as well as the creative part of us. I'll leave it at that for you to mull over.

No, I don't read the men's forum at all in respect for Mellors. I do know that the men felt bashed by the women and rightfully so. Perhaps I'm not just color blind, I'm gender blind to a certain extent. Both genders have character traits, etc. that are mutual, but... HURRAY for the differences! I do not buy into the macho stuff that's put on men... to the extent that I refused to raise my boys that way, and I have three of them. They are all, ALL man! My oldest son, who is your are, is the most successful in everything he does. He owns a nation-wide company but he refuses to "grow up." His "child" runs rampant quite often. But his hard/macho side is quite evident also. Be that as it may. You have your upbringing, he has his.

"for a man... we are constantly told to grow up... be a man... no tears.. no emotions.. just hardness... hard work... hard heart... because to feel is considered by "manly men" to be something a woman does.. "

Have you considered that maybe this kind of teaching was wrong? It's not used so much anymore. Just consider it... nothing more.

"men can't afford to stop and feel their own pain... if we did... another "manly man" would laugh at us... that hurts more sometimes than an honest punch..."

Don't tell them... don't show them.

"the rather large man holding a small baby in his arms in a hug... "

I remember seeing a picture of a GI in combat uniform holding a small child giving it comfort. Very touching!

"at work, someone may ask you how you feel... "

I never answer truthfully, anyway. NO ONE really wants to hear it. I never ask that unless I really mean it because, for the most part, I don't want to sit and listen to people's "whine" stories. IMO, that's true of most anyone, man or woman.

"call myself a child?... shoot me first..."

No, the whole of you is NOT a child. It's only a small part of the whole man. I see my character, my Self, as a cut diamond. The "child" is only one small facet of the whole diamond. A facet, that when the light is right, will flash and glimmer.

I come from a large family of ministers, Protestant. I've shed all the twisted ideas they taught me of what a "good Christian" is. I try as much as I can to pattern myself to Jesus Christ. Period.

It's true that our society worldwide is going to Hell in a handbasket. There's not much I can do about it all but there's a whole lot I can do to improve myself. That is my job, first and foremost. I can understand where you're coming from, though. "Men" are the ones that are supposed to right the wrongs of society while we women keep the homefires burning. I like that idea, but it's no longer popular. I wouldn't give you a rat's rear end what women or people in general think of me on that. If you have a comment on that, go ahead because it's welcome from YOU. I just don't want to hear it from anyone else reading this. I don't care!!

Yes, Darrel, we've both grown in courage over, what, almost three years? We've grown in patience, understanding and allowing each other our own perspectives and our own ideas and beliefs. We're both openminded enough, now, to listen and accept that we don't think alike.

Oh, yes... that demon. We've talked about it before, haven't we?

My source of strength is my own experiences in life, what has proven to be right and what has failed me. My other source is my Faith.

Thank you so much for sharing of yourself. Whether we agree with each other or not, the bond becomes stronger. I'm proud of us, Darrel, I really am! (Not paying attention to Perna. Shes' just jealous! LOL)