Greetings gents, it is said the antidote to judgement and self-righteousness is empathy and self-awareness. In fact, empathy is one of our core values within the Society. As such, I would like to share this simple yet profound message with you. As we prepare for tomorrow, Thanksgiving, let's meet some of our wayward relatives and friends with a fresh set of lens. Cheers

In conjunction with National Stress Awareness Day I would like to hear about what you do to cope with the stress in your life.

I'm surprised we don't have a "dating" category like we did in the last S/OG, so I'm going with "Mental/Physical Well-Being". Anyway, I recently discovered the YouTube Channel "Hoe Math". I know, the name is a bit inappropriate. I don't believe in calling ladies "hoes" (with very rare exception, and even then, it's usually when in the confidence of other men when venting), even if they can act that way. However, beyond the word, the channel makes a lot of great logical points about how dating dynamics work, recognizing one's value, recognizing the how and why behind modern disturbing dating trends, and provides several great tools to determine if any relationship has an equal amount of give and take, referred to as "The Table". As a great sample/intro video, I've added that below (first video). It's about the host reacting to a video where a "lady" with a septum piercing (big red flag off the bat) is trying to make a weak argument that sleeping with 100 men is no different than sleeping with one man 100 times. Yes, she seriously tries to argue that. What does Hoe Math do? Actually breaks it down in a very logical and reasonable way, with some amusing illustrations. I especially felt our younger members could greatly benefit from this, as the host also describes several of the obstacles they'll likely encounter in the modern dating scene, and pitfalls best avoided. The next video is called "The Table", and further breaks down that concept of give-and-take in relationships. Video #3 is another example of a "lady" who uses the "I am the table" argument to exploit services from men, and in return maybe giving them a little attention. When you finish this video, I guarantee you're probably going to vomit in several ways (mentally, emotionally, maybe even physically), reevaluate where you stand with the women in your life, and hopefully make some drastic changes. Spoiler alert: I see this behavior consistently here in California. It's mind boggling how many times what starts as a nice exchange between myself and a prospective lady who shows several signs of strong interest, quickly turns into my being disposable and ghosted as soon as I establish a boundary and decline to do something for them when they either stop stepping up reciprocation, or start withholding base level reciprocation (pulling back the attention they give regardless of my consistent effort). I've never before lived in such a place where it's one-way-benefit transactional as here. Sure, there was always a "transaction" process in some form, but it used to be a little more equal.

Forgiving vs. Forgetting - Forgiving is a conscious decision to let go of resentment or anger toward someone who hurt you — even if you never get an apology. - Forgetting, however, isn’t usually realistic. The brain remembers painful events to help us protect ourselves in the future. So while you might not be able to erase the memory, you can reach a point where it no longer triggers strong emotions. I have had time Lately to reflect upon my life and times I have been wronged, or wronged others. I know in my heart that I have been able To forgive all people who have wronged me. But the mere fact that I still THINK about these people and I remember what transpired I realize that I have not forgotten, nor will I probably ever. The same probably goes for people who I have wronged (people who I have apologized to for my actions). I believe because I expressed remorse and apologized that they more than likely have forgiven me but I doubt they will truly forget. I suppose as long as one can be at peace with it that somehow eases not fully forgetting. There was once someone who deeply hurt me and basically lied to me which wound up destroying my life at that time. I tried maybe a year or so after that to meet up with him to see what he had to say about what happened. He never apologized at all….so I told him to leave (and I was not nice about it) and he slithered away. Oh I had already forgiven him for my own sanity but I never forgot. Then at least another 10 years passed and I divided to meet up with him (reluctantly). I wanted to hear that apology that I so desperately needed. We Chatted and caught up a bit but then I had to actually ask him if he thought about me (he said every day) and then I asked if he was sorry for what he did…. He finally did apologize but I feel I had to drag it out of him. At least for people that I wronged, I always apologized . I think that it is an important part of forgiving someone. Just wondering how you all feel? Has anyone hurt you or wronged you where you did forgive ? And if you did forgive, have you actually forgotten. Or is there someone that you can never forgive ?

In my attempt to make you all aware of every obscure and possibly made up holiday, and observance I bring you this. No Nut November, also known as and abbreviated to NNN, is an annual internet challenge of sexual abstinence and not masturbating during the month of November. It originated in 2011 and grew in popularity among male users of social media during and after 2017. Destroy Dick December serves as a counterpoint. History Although No Nut November was originally intended to be satirical, some participants claim that abstaining from ejaculating and not watching pornography has health benefits.[1][2]An Urban Dictionary entry for No Nut November was published in 2011, and, in 2017, the movement started to gain popularity on social media.[3] It is associated with the NoFapcommunity on Reddit, which encourages its members not to masturbate.[2] The Reddit community /r/NoNutNovember grew from 16,500 subscribers in November 2018[4] to 52,000 subscribers in November 2019.[1] In 2017, a related internet challenge, Destroy Dick December, was started serving as a counterpoint to No Nut November, encouraging participants to take part in excessive amounts of sexual activities such as intercourse and masturbation, after abstaining from them during the previous month.[5]