What the World Needs Now

“What is this thing called love?  This funny thing called love?  Just who can solve its mystery?  Why should it make a fool of me?”  These are the first few lines of Cole Porter’s song, What Is This Thing Called Love? As a member of Men Mentoring Men (M3) for three and a half years, I have come to discover more about this powerful yet complex emotion.  

Stepping back to my initial months of M3 meetings I was often struck by how freely a group of men shared how they felt.  I always considered myself to be pretty open with my own feelings, but never did I experience such a free-flowing exchange between guys.  In particular, I remember an email exchange where I saw a number of guys supporting one another and readily exchanging words of love and caring.  It was comforting to see yet it stirred up something in me.  Could it be that I struggled with feelings of intimacy, especially towards men?  You betcha!

As the months have passed, I have learned that many men, including myself, are seeking and finding the connections and the relationships with one another that go way beyond the superficial.  I recall Ed Adams, the founder of M3, saying he has fallen in love with men.  Well, I’ve come to relate to that ever more easily because of the men of M3.  It’s among these precious individuals where I have found solace, encouragement, support, and yes, love, sweet love.  Thank you, Hal David and Burt Bacharach!  And it’s with gratitude that I can say to my M3 brothers and other men in my life, I love you.  

Bill Marrone

M3 Member