BOYS DON’T CRY

BOYS DON’T CRY, OR DO THEY?

I was sitting on a couch at a birthday party. This boy (about 5 years old) was wearing this shirt with big letters on it: “Boys don’t cry”.

A woman starting talking to him. And read the text out loud to the boy: “Boys don’t cry”. And then asked the boy:”What do you think? Do boys cry?”. The boy went inside (probably looking for the answer from his direct experience). He was about to answer and then the woman said: “no, of course boys don’t cry” answering the question before the boy had a chance to answer.

The kid looked confused for a moment and then walked towards me. We had never met before but I guess he just needed someone gentle to hang out with, someone that doesn’t expect him to be anything or behave in a certain way. He sat next to me and started talking to me about his life for 5 minutes straight. You know, the important things, How he enjoys going to school, what his favorite games are, how cool his brother is. I listened, gently nodded and asked him some questions out of curiosity.

It’s interesting how the lightest and open-hearted conversation I had at the party was with a 5-year-old. In fact, I just sat in silence for the rest of the party. Having no interest in perpetuating the old programs running the show.

We need more strong men in this world:

*Strong men cry (without needing a reason)
*Strong men are gentle in a world that teaches you to be tough
*Strong men give up
*Strong men admit they don’t know anything
*Strong men express themselves with vulnerability from their inner being
*Strong men dare to feel the painImage may contain: Bart Roovers, beard and closeup

Bart Roovers

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