The Fatherly Heart

On this Fathers Day, some words of wisdom from Matthew Fox . . .

The fatherly heart is so important that we must all learn to embody it, whether male or female, young or old, parents or grandparents.

. . . [A] fatherly heart brings hope, promise and possibility into one's life, while the lack of a fatherly heart often brings hopelessness and despair and the violence that follows.

A fatherly heart gives us wings, providing us with ambition, empowerment, and strength. The fatherly heart also provides boundaries and contains us, grounding us like the Green Man. A good father encourages personal and individual responsibility. A fatherly heart does not foster dependency or co-dependency but healthy individuality.

An authentic fatherly heart is in love with life, and is a nourisher and supporter of [this love of life]. . . . An authentic father is a caretaker for Mother Earth, working to make sure her creatures, soil, water, air and forests are healthy. A fatherly heart goes out of its way to foster mutual communication within a family and a community: a communication that flows both ways, listening and speaking, teaching and learning.

~ Matthew Fox
Excerpted from The Hidden Spirituality of Men:
Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
New World Library, 2009

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• A Warrior’s Heart
• Cernunnos and Pan: “Witch-Fathers of the Wild”
• A Fresh Take on Masculinity
• Flexibility and Flow
• Quote of the Day ~ February 21, 2025
• Vulnerability Is Power
• Beloved and Antlered
• Remembering and Celebrating Dad

Image: Margarita Sikorskaia