Throughout this process of uncovering what it really takes to have a deeply satisfying life, I try to maintain a critical acumen about men in order to understand the ones I admire and the ones I reject. What's the difference between the few and the rest of the pack? Why do some men rise above and others swim in the shallows? It's certainly not about material things. While I don't like hanging out with men (or women for that matter) who are always sucking from the tit of another because they are not capable of standing on their own two feet, I also am unimpressed by what car you drive, what designer clothes you wear, where you live or what celebrities you hang with. I just don't care.
So what does float my boat? What rocks my world? Let me put it this way. A man without passion for something (besides me or his narcissistic tendencies) is like a rudderless dingy. A sailboat sans sails. An engine with no fuel. He's a man of no interest to me or probably anyone else.
It is passion, commitment, involvement in something larger than oneself that shouts, "Life is a gift, babe. So let's ride this wave together for as long as there is a wave to ride." Wow.
Now that's an irresistible man. And that leads me to my discovering within myself a need to set forth a series of Huffington articles about men of conviction, compassion, courage and creativity. These characteristics to varying degrees are in all the men I have chosen to write about. This does not mean I agree with everything they say, everything they espouse, everything they themselves feel passionate about. It means, however, that within each of these men exists a seed of integrity they have chosen to nurture in everyday choices they make. Are they always successful? Probably not. Who is? But their moral compass is clearly lodged inside of them. When confronted with whether or not to take the high road or the self serving road, they tend to choose the high road more times than not.
I wondered for a long time why I felt such a strong passion for men like this. I think it is perhaps because I see the potential inside them more clearly than a lot of other folks can. The vision I have was honed inside of me during a 30 year observation of my poor, dear and now deceased father. He tried his entire life to walk a higher path than he was capable of after becoming tragically and seriously brain damaged during a vicious attack by an angry and petty co worker over nothing more than a pile of dirt.
So there you have my Achilles heel, one that has been taken advantage of more times than I care to admit. But one that at this stage in life can spot the diamond in the rough, the good and decent man, the person who is not a player but merely is human in the best sense of what that means. And what does that mean?
My Huffington Posts. These are guys with a clear moral compass that gets them up in the morning, pushes them out in the world, forces them to make a difference regardless if they are 40, 50, 60 or 70. They are men who do not give up no matter what life throws at them. Repeat. They do not give up. And that means they don't give up on their significant others either. They stick around emotionally, psychically and physically. They are present and available as much as they can be. They are men of conviction, compassion, courage and creativity. Enough said.
Here they are thus far...many more on the horizon...
Jim Beaver, actor and writer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-perryfolino/interview-with-jim-beaver_b_4751476.html
John Steppling, playwright and screenwriter
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-perryfolino/man-of-conviction_b_4886456.html
Silvester Henderson, Professor and Gospel Impresario
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-perryfolino/love-and-equity-the-geniu_b_6155334.html
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