Chapter 27: hands that guide

a journey in my own skinWords: 750

There are men out there

whose words are not weapons

but bridges,

built from understanding,

from the patience of knowing

that some lessons take time.

They don't teach us

with harshness or pride,

but with the steady hand

of someone who understands

that to be a man

is not to claim power

over others,

but to lift them up

when they fall.

They don't demand we be perfect—

they only ask that we be true.

And in their presence,

we find the strength to stand taller,

to trust in the man we are becoming,

without the fear of being broken.

In the way they speak,

in the way they listen,

we learn that being a man

is not about dominance or cruelty,

but about grace,

and kindness,

and knowing when to lead,

and when to stand beside someone

in quiet solidarity.