EDUCATION AND AWARENESS: ACTIVE PURSUITS

If it hasn't happened yet, I'm sure it will soon.  There is a process within Freemasonry that begin with essential questions being put out into the ether without a response. Answering those questions requires an effort that no one can impose. It is a pursuit of an underlying talent and insight based on a theory, that with effort any man or woman can be a better person tomorrow than they are today.  As we begin we experience tests.  Frustration. Isolation. Confusion. Solitude. So many paths taken by others, only hint at the one best suited to our own abilities. Easier to do what we usually do when faced with dissonance- step back.  Yet each time we congregate, we are struck with a deafening sound coming from symbols. Mathematical equations pour over us, too many to understand at once. The maddening crowd seems to have an enviable source of energy, while we continue to dream of walking into those inspiring masonic cathedrals where connection to our history is layered. If this proximation is familiar then perhaps it is helpful to point out that our beliefs rest within our solitude where no question is wrong, where black and white fades into shades of grey. If this becomes a hobby, better to take up golf or philately.  As you are a person of conscience, the questions will not fade.  Command and control, chain-of-command has little to do with inspiration and talent.  The magicians secrets are about forming illusion, manipulating the mind using knowledge and practice. So those who come into the Order with pre-conceived notions about us, are bound to be unhappy. Those who self-educate who come with an idealistic sensibility cannot escape the inevitable reality- masonry is complex and requires dedication. The fortunate among us also find inspiration along the way.