Lord,
There is no doubt that in being a Dad there is a shift in how you think and how you feel.
This can hit us at different times…
For me it was when my daughters were born and had to stay in the hospital’s special care nursery for a few weeks…
The first time we had to leave them in the hospital and go home, I felt this strong, deep connection to that hospital, because they were there…
Suddenly I wasn’t able to just leave and forget about it…I was being called back there.
I have heard from friends that they felt it in the form of being a strong pillar of support for their partner or baby mumma when they find out they were pregnant.
I’m sure you can think about something similar where you felt this pull or shift in your being into something new.
The fact is that being a father, you have more responsibilities and your family will look to you for answers and expect you to make decisions.
You become a leader and not a follower.
You might look for answers within or attempt to seek out new information from outside sources.
These kinds of ‘man making’ moments have been well documented throughout myth, religion and story telling where there is this sort of transition from boyhood into manhood.
Joseph Campbell talks about this exact concept in his book ‘A Hero With a Thousand Faces’.
His hero’s journey starts off with the call to adventure.
For example when Luke Skywalker is called to help princess Leia under mysterious circumstances.
Or in tribes when they would send their teenage boys out to slay certain animals and they couldn’t come back until they had.
Or, in this instance when you father a child…
There is this thing that is calling you to evolve and change into someone new.
And this is a good thing, in fact it’s a great thing.
Being able to rise to new and uncomfortable challenges in life is what makes us grow, mature and awaken the warrior within.
In ‘The King, Warrior, Magician and Lover’ by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette they talk about the ‘warrior’ archetype and how being decisive, taking action and rising to the challenges that lay in front of us are what is vital to growth.
When we have children this might mean being that pillar of support for your baby mumma, getting a job, learning to be a better communicator or acting in ways that a man of integrity would ie being honest, caring, decisive and congruent
So if you are worried or scared about the new path that lay ahead, have faith.
Faith in the force…haha
You must believe that you can do it. Because you can….
The challenge would not have been lay before you unless you could..
Good luck young warrior!