To be wild: The lost art of manliness

"And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
~ Genesis 16:12. Source: The Bible, King James Version

Since procreation is the only tool of survival of the human race, it is but natural for an adult male of the species to let his eyes rove over the body of the maid watering the plants in the garden; or for that matter, on any woman in the proximity of sight - especially if they are an eyeful.

Prevailed upon by genetic traits, it is a normal reflex of most men: even if their thoughts do not follow the eye. On the other hand, if an urge did arise following the curve of the eyes; it may be attributed to the wild side of the beholder.

Yet, for a man to be wild does not mean running around the four corners of the earth, sowing wild oats. It is not necessary that he be a fun-loving, woman chasing, brawler of the night; nor be a fierce, barbaric and untamed savage or a wild cat.

In fact, many of the mannerisms attributed to the wild man are not the monopoly of wild men.

If anything, they are equally, if not more, the markings and makings of so-called men of refinement: guile, craft, and cunning. The greed of such men, for the possessions of other men, makes them worse than one who is wild. Their gentility and nicety would vanish in the face of an insatiable greed.

They would even spew a mega poem in praise of the evillest of them all men, if it fulfills their greed, for they are the dregs of society who live by exploiting others, his brethren.

Such persons, not the wild, are not only, not socialised; but are not aroused to an interest in humanity. He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have is said of the supposedly civilised, but greedy.

Unruly

To be shamelessly wild is not a shameful thing because wild does not always mean unruly; or the image of a primitive and uncivilised man, depicted as a symbol of the wild side of the human nature.

If anything, it is the man without ethics who is a beast loosed upon the world. Integrity without ethics is weak and useless to society; and ethics without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way, said Socrates, the enigmatic Greek Athenian philosopher.

Thus, men who have continually acted to profit at another's peril, imperil their honour to avarice. If a man wants to be truly free and truly alive, he has to have a bit of madness.

For it is madness that imparts flashes of wisdom and insight and spurs men to attempt amazing and inspiring feats that a more reasonable and 'sane' man would never venture to try. Madness inspires men to create beauty through art, to love passionately and deeply. In our modern vernacular, "madness" has a negative connotation.

We think of lunatics when we hear the word; but that had not always been the attitude towards madness.

The Ancient Greeks acknowledged the kind of madness that made a man insensible, but also believed in an entirely positive type of madness. For them, positive madness was a gift from the gods, powerful divine inspiration that superseded reason.

The Ancient Greeks believed four kinds of divine madness existed: Madness of prophecy, of love, of poetry, and of ritual. Plato, student of Socrates and the founder of the Academy in Athens, said that these forms of madness were "the source of blessings granted to men" and that the "greatest of good things come to us through such madness."

Back in the days when men were hunters and chest beaters; women were often taken against their will, and men complained that women were cold, unresponsive, and frigid.

They wanted their women wild. Nowadays, when women were finally learning to be wanton and wild, what happens? The men wilt, for they have become nice and proper: lifeless, boring, and predictable. They have forgotten Einstein's memorable words: Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.

Savage

Wild Man is not a savage who indulges and takes pleasure in sex and violence. He is one who is, full of masculine strength; what some call, Zeus Energy. The Ancient Greeks called this energy thumos or spiritedness: Thumos was a permanent possession of living man, to which his thinking and feeling belonged.

The Wild Man is the opposite of the present day man who only cultivates his breeding and nurturing. The Wild Man has a fierceness that he will use to fight for what he thinks is right.

The Wild Man is not afraid to say what he wants and to let his feelings known. In short, the Wild Man is not afraid or ashamed of being a man. He lives a full life, is earthy and filled with that life giving Zeus Energy.

Just look how we treat manliness in modern society.

We are afraid of manliness, and we try to tame it. We want to throw the Wild Man in a cage: see the way we treat boys in our schools. Boys by nature love rough and tumble play, and are full of energy.

They wrestle with each other even during class. They shout out answers without raising their hands. They get restless during grammar lessons, but light up with excitement when they get their hands dirty with a science experiment. However, what do we tell these boys? Behave! Sit still! Quiet down! We ask boys to act like girls. If asking and shaming does not produce the desired results, we refer them to psychiatrists and try to tame the Wild Boy in them with medications. Thus, the Wild Man of once upon a time has been tamed. After years of being brainwashed to "behave" and do what is safe; man has become risk-averse..

Risk

Employment only made aversion to even worse. Once employed; one is trained to see and avoid problems, and become a well-behaved puppy of society. We have spent our whole lives "behaving" and trying to please those around us. We go to college because that is what we are "supposed" to do, not in search of knowledge. We work in careers that give us prestige and wealth, but does not excite at all.

We play it safe and hope we can just get by in life. In the process, we have tamed the Wild Man within us and lost our passion for life, the importance of having passion in our life, and being passionate about all things we do.

A great person's courage to fulfill his vision comes from wild passion, not from taming passion. Passion is like the ecstasy of reunion; which men yearn for, when their stomachs are full, and their bodies healthy.

A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means. Hence, chase down the wild man in you. We all need to take that trip out into the wild and learn from the Wild Man to grow into a complete and mature masculinity. We certainly need to be civil and civilised; but for a man to be truly happy and live a full life, he cannot neglect his Wild Man.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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