by Ed Gurowitz
Last week I took the opportunity to listen in on the MKP USA Board’s Annual Meeting. There were close to 50 men on the call including Board members representing various circles – the Leader Body, the LKS, the Area / Centers, the Elder Council, the Young Warrior Council, the I-Group Council, the Multi-Cultural Council, and others. There are men on the Board who are MKP legends – Rich Tosi and Bill Kauth, two of the three founders were there – everyone from men who have been around since 1985 to men who weren’t born in 1985. It was amazing!
Business got done, elections were held – all the things a Board does, but what was amazing was the way it got done. First of all, every man checked into the circle – including observers like me – and was welcome and included. Every candidate for office and board seats spoke and was questioned warmly, respectfully, and directly. All four energies – warrior, lover, magician, and sovereign were there in full expression, and every circle was represented.
I was proud of us. I was moved by the authenticity, humility, and acceptance that I heard. That is the organization that we are – circles of men – some concentric, some overlapping, some side by side, but without hierarchy or force – just the power of men who speak from their heart, who speak their truth, and who trust that every man brings a contribution and that the resulting whole will be greater than that sum of the parts.
There were many themes – inclusion, particularly of men who have been marginalized, expansion of the services MKP USA can provide, retention of men’s participation and interest after the “high” of the NWTA gets tarnished a bit by contact with the world we have committed to heal, and most of all, community. I’m reminded of the lines from the poem “Outwitted” by Edwin Markham:
He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In !
We, all of us, joined together by our common bond as awakened, initiated men, are that circle that draws men in. We are circles within circles, within circles and love and we have the wit to win!
Ed G.
Till next time, Aho!
Out with Gratitude,
Ed Gurowitz
