Or men, actually.
Because it’s probably not only your partner or spouse, but also your dad, grandpa, son, and whoever you’d want to include on your ‘Favorite Men’ list.
Despite the huge uncertainty this year brings, Movember still holds its power in reminding us that our men are, too, only human, who are not invincible to diseases, emotions, feelings and psychological disorders, which might also be caused by all pressures life has brought them and us.
Without further ado, here are 19 Movember quotes I handpicked myself, with the intention to both entertain and inspire you and all great men in your life.
Have yourselves mugs of hot chai latte, get comfy and enjoy the read!
Let’s start on the sunnier side of the road!
Let’s admit it: In today’s society, who would voluntarily grow a moustache? And we’re talking about the types that flourished in not only ’70s up to early ’90s, but also back in the 19th century. Especially with the absence of sideburns and beard. Only a few would have that kind of bravery, right? And that, actually, is rather understandable for a number of reasons.
But that’s the point, right?
A movement aims to create awareness, and there would be no awareness without something heartfelt.
Now. Aren’t embarrassment, suffering, and other things that make you uncomfortable the very things that you’d feel rather deeply?
1
Though sporting a hideous moustache is in no way comparable to the physical pain and mental suffering men with these diseases endure, Movember still forces participants to challenge their manhood on a daily basis. Growing a moustache for men’s cancer isn’t as feel-good an activity as running a marathon for a cure.
David Sax
2
My ‘Movember’ moustache was never going to be as big as Nigel Mansell’s, but I tried my best. The amazing thing is that when you try to grow a moustache, you notice everyone else’s. There are some amazing moustaches on the grid.
Jenson Button
3
I don’t have the confidence to pull off a moustache.
Rich Sommer
4
I tried on a moustache, and it was decided I would grow one. I’ve shaved it off for a couple of films, but otherwise, I’ve had it ever since.
Omar Sharif
5
They wrote it that my moustache was insured for 13 million.
John Newcombe
6
When people say ‘Charlie Chaplin’ I still think now of the guy in the moustache and bowler hat and funny walk – I don’t think of an old man who was my grandfather.
Oona Chaplin
7
Of the opposite sex, I have the moustache and, in general, the face.
Frida Kahlo
8
A moustache really defines your face. My dad had a moustache when I was growing up, and I can still remember when he shaved it, he looked like a completely different person.
Jason Sudeikis
9
A good moustache makes a man for many reasons.
John Oates
Amazing thing with a movement for a good cause is that, no matter how burdensome the suffering is, if you do it for a good cause and it’s 100% right according to your discernment, then you’ll feel beautifully rewarded and content with your life. With your existence.
And I’m sure those sweet little things will surface themselves along the way. Those things that warm your heart and spark that light when things get dark and heavy in the journey.
In the end, when everything has been taken into consideration, it’s your legacy that’s going to stay and change the world that you’ll leave behind.
When Movember gets more and more contemplative…
When it comes to the general society, each gender has its own sets of expectations, being said out loud or not.
Of course the intensity varies across different countries and regions.
But come to think of it a little deeper, I believe these age old expectations still lingers everywhere. It’s just that people in certain places started to learn being more open-minded and progressive earlier than their fellows in other places. – all of which depends on the circumstances as well, more or less understandably.
10
A man who is not a father to his children can never be a real man,
Mario Puzo, The Godfather
11
Stand true to your calling to be a man. Real women will always be relieved and grateful when men are willing to be men.
Elisabeth Elliot
12
Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.
Patrick Henry
13
I don’t want to be a genius – I have enough problems just trying to be a man.
Albert Camus
14
Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.
André Malraux
Being born a female, without me disregarding all our built-in and external challenges, I’d still imagine being born a male would not be easier either.
Obviously or not, we both have been expected to do certain sets of things only to fit in. And consequently, our own individual values are just waiting to be thrown out of window.
But it doesn’t have to be that way, you know. It all comes back to the individual’s personality. When we choose to live with certain person ( a.k.a. partner in life), we’d try to do our best to appreciate each other’s values, make compromises and grow.
Throughout my life, I’ve seen (or more accurately, silently observed) men with more apparent stereotypically “feminine” qualities compared to his spouse, and vice versa – it really doesn’t matter, because these people have acknowledged each other’s personality, values, strengths and weaknesses and are willing to make their relationship work. And even if people start to talk behind their back, it’s not their problem anymore, really.
Starting from this Movember, we need to understand that…
15
The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.
Vincent van Gogh
16
Most men claim to desire driven, independent, and confident women. Yet when confronted with such a creature reverence often evolves into resent. For just like women, men need to be needed.
Tiffany Madison
17
Men and women have strengths that complement each other.
Edwin Louis Cole
It’s strange because as much as I, as a woman, advocate for women empowerment, I believe that many women should actually learn to acknowledge their fellow human men and their challenges in today’s world and its mindset. For quite a while now, it seems to me that being born a male nowadays could be a double-edged sword. Not so much so back then, right?
I believe both men and women have the capability to feel deeply. And I, too, believe that both of us do have common needs, so much more than we would imagine without giving deeper thoughts about it.
So help your dad, grandpa, partner, spouse and son to express their feelings when they find it difficult to do so. Even if you yourself have the difficulty to do so. And maybe also ask them to help you do the same. Easier said than done, I know, but isn’t it just beautiful to be able to help each other out?
The statistics released by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention show that the rate of suicide is highest in middle-aged white men. One of the facts published on their website also reads ‘In 2018, men died by suicide 3.56x more often than women’ and ‘White males accounted for 69.67% of suicide deaths in 2018.’
Although we should not have the devastating effects of war discounted, still, it shows us the eerily-silent nature of many men’s sufferings. As we humans are all trying to be tough, many men were especially built to think that they have to be “tough” tough all the time.
It really is a sensitive yet important subject to talk about. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we are all here to learn, grow and help each other out, regardless this thing we’ve known as gender, which, by the way, does not determine most of our characteristics, personalities, strengths and weaknesses.
If you can help, help out. If you need to reach, reach out.
And remember that…
18
There is nothing noble being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.
Winston Churchill
19
Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor.
Benjamin Disraeli
Maybe it’s time to get to know with yourself and stop comparing yourself with anyone else and also anything from external sources.
When you stop comparing yourself with the world’s standards and start growing, believe me, you’ll be happier and feel more content with your brave self. And you’ll start appreciating yourself even more – all of which would make you an even more grateful and loving person.
Yes, we all need to be tough, but we also need to learn to be more graceful with ourselves, for we are not at all perfect. Because we’re not meant to be that way either. Do you want to be that overly tough but sour person for the rest of you life?
To all men out there, from this Movember on, could you try not repressing your feelings and emotions too much?
One step at a time.
One day at a time.
Whatever demons you’re battling right now, whether it’s a disease, more than one diseases, mental breakdown, and any- or everything else, there would be capable people who would gladly support you. So find those people who will appreciate your humanly feelings and emotions, all of which makes you a passionately thriving human.
Also, could you keep it in your heart that love always matters?
And that the measure of a man should be the measure of his heart.
His core.
His intention.
As well as his effort and persistence to love, grow and do good.
Happy Movember!
Love and best wishes,
Ella
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