This is our first, post-summer Not Just a Beard gathering.  Old timers please set a great example and bring some delicious food to share with the group.

We are on the cusp of the Autumn Equinox, the time of half day, half night; the tipping point. A time of year which beckons us to reflect on the long summer days of the past, and anticipate the dying days before us. In this vein the theme of September's meeting will be 'Midlife'. What do our middle-aged members feel about being at the middle ground between birth and death? What are they proud of? What do they hope for and want to change in their second half of life? What do our younger members aspire to have achieved and become in their fifties? And how do our elders look back on the tipping point? What would they tell their fifty-something selves if they could whisper in their own younger ear, backwards through time?

Please join our circle of self-identified men as it reforms after a long break. We will seek to share our feelings and reflections in a safe, confidential, and supportive space, as outlined in our Covenant below.

We aspire to:

·        Be humble, transparent and generous,

·        Be honest,

·        Cultivate trust,

·        Actively develop a growthful and supportive environment,

·        Look out for opportunities to build horizontal links with the community,

·        Be more imaginative,

·        Listen patiently to the concerns and experiences of other members,

·        Focus on personal feelings rather than abstractions,

·        Be honest about our reactions to others,

·        Express empathy,

·        Attend the meetings if we possibly can,

·        Stay in the group when things get difficult,

·        Support each other through challenging times and embrace the positive times,

·        Remember that we have different modes in which we express ourselves best,

·        Show our vulnerability,

·        Communicate our needs to the group,

·        Discover our true nature through self-expression,

·        Share concerns about the group with the group,

·        Stay on topic,

·        Love one another,

·        Keep what happens in the group within the group,

·        Protect one another,

·        Create a safe space for members to be open and honest,

·        Share the space equally, speaking more or less to accommodate others,

·        Understand one another,

·        Talk to one another,

·        Understand ourselves better through the concerns and life stories of other members,

·        Reform our masculine behaviour and therefore extinguish the male stereotype,

·        One day widen our topics to sensitive issues such as sexuality, violence in all forms and our role as men in the contemporary world,

·        Uphold trust and confidence in one another.