Men Beyond 50 is a set of resources to help men from their fifties into their seventies and beyond to live happy and fulfilled lives, work through the challenges of ageing, find fellowship, and help towards positive change in the world as elders.
ENJOYING, EXPLORING, CONNECTING, MATURING
We aim to meet the needs and aspirations of older men by providing a vision, details of resources and events, and access to fellowship for maturing men.
This may help those men who are lost in midlife to find their way again.
But why are we needed?
Somewhere in their 50s, 60s and 70s, most men will face a series of shipwrecks, major or minor. These may include redundancy or retirement, divorce, kids leaving home, and health problems.
Every shipwreck contains a heartbreak and a gift: there is a loss to grieve and the gift of the freedom of being cast up on an unknown shore where one can make fresh choices. What’s most poignant about the male midlife crisis is that many men don’t have the life skills to reinvent themselves, or to make the best of these new situations.
Older men have a wealth of talents, which many of us would like to put to use helping others. But often we do not know how to go about giving back, or where to learn the skills to be of most help (e.g. for mentoring). And so we may find ourselves frustrated and unable to get involved in the ways we want to be.
Older people (men and women together) make up a large proportion of today’s population, but we can often appear invisible and find that our voices are ignored. Here, we can meet and share our stories so the world at large can hear us.
There is also a wisdom which comes with age which could provide transformational leadership and inspirational guidance to society at large. The younger generation may look to us for guidance, yet it can be difficult to find opportunities and the best ways to put this into practice. We aim to explore how this might happen.
We also bring together authoritative briefings, trustworthy articles and inspiring stories on the major topics which matter most to men over 50. These are gathered by topic in the Resources section of the website.
Rod Boothroyd is a workshop leader, therapist and coach. His aim is to bring all men to a greater understanding and embrace of their masculinity, and to offer access to the highest quality of emotional healing work. His mission is to facilitate healing circles in which people can bring their shadow into the light and so grow into emotional maturity.
His latest book is a guide to the male archetypes and the male personality titled Warrior, Magician, Lover, King: A Guide To The Male Archetypes Updated For The 21st Century. It’s a guide to the male archetypes which aims to explain the nature of modern masculinity and show how men can heal their emotional wounds. The book also gives many powerful techniques by which men can embrace their power and become sovereigns in their own world. Available from Amazon: Warrior, Magician, Lover, King: A Guide To The Male Archetypes Updated For The 21st Century
Website: https://www.strongfreemen.co.uk
Alan Heeks was one of the co-founders of the Men Beyond 50 concept. Alan is a writer and group leader with a deep interest in resilience, natural well-being, and creative ageing. His second book is Out Of The Woods: A Guide To Life For Men Beyond 50.
See more at www.alanheeks.com