Retreat Emphasizes Masculine Tradition

Michael Meade is a former New York boy who, through a lifetime of self-examination, has become a man to whom other men tend to listen. He brings a traditional sense of masculinity to a movement that has taken pains to redefine the very notion of manliness. Meade is a role model for men who might otherwise equate vulnerability with wimpishness.

A storyteller, drummer and author (“Men and the Water of Life”), Meade will co-lead a summer retreat for men called “Bound for the Sacred” on Aug 5-7 on the Kitsap Peninsula. Meade’s co-leader will be Malidoma Some, a West African native, scholar and author (“Ritual: Power, Healing and Community”).

Fees for the retreat, which include two nights lodging and food, are $195 (make checks out to Limbus). Deadline is July 15. Mail to: Limbus, P.O. Box 364, Vashon, WA 98070.

For further information, call (206) 463-9387.

Upcoming events

Another one-day Essential Peacemaking workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, at the Center for the Children’s Fire, 2924 W. Boone. Facilitated by Don and Magdalena McCloskey, the workshop costs $35 per person. For registration and other information, call 327-1770.

A two-day summer workshop of African and Haitian drum and/or dance lessons will be held on the weekend of July 15-16. For further information, call 624-7573.

Sept. 30 marks the 788th birthday of Sufi poet-teacher Jalauddin Rumi. “An Evening of Rumi,” which will be held on that date at Seattle’s Nippon Kan Theater, will offer poetry and performance in honor of the 13th-century holy man. For registration information, call (206) 463-9387. Or fax: (206) 463-9236.

Bridging the gap

In his book “Reconciliation Road,” author John Douglas Marshall writes of his search to discover the story of his grandfather, the noted military historian S.L.A. Marshall.

Once close, the two had parted ways - in the fashion of the time - over the Vietnam War. They never reconciled in the elder Marshall’s lifetime.

“If only my grandfather … had, at some point, said those difficult, but simple words - ‘I forgive.’ Or if I myself had said … them. How many years of family animosity and distance might have been avoided …

“Family should matter more than the politics of the moment, as several people have told me on this trip. Family, despite the inevitable troubles and disappointments, should somehow endure. And forgiveness, the true expression of love’s selflessness, may be what is needed most in families. Words can wound, but words can heal. If people will try them before it’s too late.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing

MEMO: Common Ground is written on alternating weeks by Dan Webster and Rebecca Nappi. Write to them in care of The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Or fax, 459-5098.