January 2026
In his words:
Being a father has been the source of some of the greatest joy of my life — and some deep pain.
Fatherhood has expanded my consciousness. It has reflected back to me my fears, my shame, and, of course, my most positive attributes.
This film is a window into many parts of myself, my family, and how I navigate renewal.
I often hear other parents say they just wanted to do better than their own parents did — to give their kids something they wish they had. Then, when they’re faced with difficult seasons and begin to feel like they’ve failed, they ask: how could that be? They did do better.
There’s an invisible world beneath all of this — the unconscious mind. Generations of pain and shadow resting quietly on a parent’s shoulders. To move through it requires growth.
There’s a reason it’s called growing pains. And it requires a shift in perspective that can be painful. I like what Joseph Campbell said on the subject:
“Love is the burning point of life, and since all life is sorrowful, so is love. The stronger the love, the more the pain. Love itself is pain, you might say — the pain of being truly alive.”
I’ve grown tired of the trope — the bumbling, absent, head-in-the-clouds father that our culture so often portrays. I want to bring into the light the fathers who have made real efforts to be there for their kids.
And that doesn’t mean perfection — not even close.
It means recognizing our humanity.
It means trying, changing, growing, loving.
We hear a lot about “cycle breakers” in pop psychology. I actually like the phrase. When I discover those places in myself that need cleaning up, I ask:
What story am I telling myself?
And — how can I change it?
If you’d like to watch the full 3-minute film, email us and we’ll send it to you.
