Where we’ve been, where we’re headed and what we need to get there. Do you find yourself wondering, wishing you could wander. Wondering what in the world is the point of all of this? I do. Even the “successful” men in my life seem to be just doing their best at the game laid out before them. Most of them are married, working a good career and trying to make the most of everyday. They are not failures by any means. But even these guys are wondering, ever so quietly, the questions we all ask ourselves. Am I doing this right? Am I going the distance in my marriage? Am I raising my kids well (enough)? Could I be more for myself and for others? What am I missing that I’m just unaware of? Time is running quickly. The news headlines used to last a week or more, now it’s a day or two at best. Older folks used to warn us that the kids would be grown and out of the house before you know it! We knew they were right but we weren’t sure what to do with that information exactly, just enjoy it, take pictures, make experiences…Life is moving quickly, what are we to do?

The answer as far as I can see is captured in the mantra Meat-Fire-Tribe. What does this mean? Well, what are we missing? What has been taken away from current generations of men that was a foundation for our forefathers? The answer is contained in the words Meat-Fire-Tribe.

I remember as a kid my dad was an avid hunter. When I was very young, he kept hunting dogs and hunted birds. As I got older, he focused on Deer with a bow and arrow as his weapon of choice. He had meat built into his lifestyle. He had outdoors, fire, and he had other men telling hunting and fishing stories. Unfortunately, not much of that life got absorbed by me. I bought into the idea of “modern” life-College, women, happiness and ease. At the risk of making this too much about me, I remember my dad used to cook steaks and soak up the grease in the pan with a piece of bread. He would let it get crispy and man it was good. In my later years I would remember this meal with contempt. How could my dad feed me Grease Bread as it was called, doesn’t he care about my health! Ha, now I look around and see what the low-fat low nutrient recommendations have done to my fellow Americans and smile when I remember the Grease Bread. His generation was a generation of men. Flawed as they were, and as we are, they shared a different world view. One that I know we need to remember and to begin to incorporate back into our modern day. Not just Grease bread but all that is embodied in Meat-Fire-Tribe.

This is the beginning of a conversation. I invite you to follow along as we uncover what has been missing, refocus on the things that are good and together as men, recapture our essential spirit.