<\/p>\n
When do we become a Mason?\u00a0 After the First Degree?\u00a0 When we become a Fellowcraft?\u00a0 or not until we become a Master Mason?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The answer is quite simple, it is the precise moment after you take your FIRST<\/strong> obligation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It may be that we cannot fully enjoy visiting until we are duly qualified as a Master Mason, and even then, are we “Practicing Masons”<\/span>,<\/em> or just members on the roll?.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is easily understood that at any stage in our development, (as individual Masons), we can feel insignificant in such a great & huge fraternal organization.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, I ask you to examine Masonry, which began as a small idea and evolved into what it is today.\u00a0 We must do many little things to accomplish a big thing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Think about it!\u00a0 Every tile in the mosaic pavement serves its purpose.\u00a0 The void which would be present if even one tile were missing makes each sector indispensable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You’ve heard the saying, “It’s only a drop in the bucket”<\/span>.<\/em>\u00a0 A drop in the bucket may appear insignificant, but, you know, a drop of water placed in the ocean does raise its level, even though imperceptibly. Because a deed or event is small is no reason to ignore it!!!!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So it is with our Lodges.\u00a0 Be they small, appear insignificant, or be unimpressive; be they only a drop in the bucket, their contributions to Freemasonry can be measured.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some ideas take a long time to prove and develop into something fruitful and so it is with Masonry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our Ancient Landmarks, the backbone of our fraternity, have survived the pressures of time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A seed needs to be planted, cultivated and harvested.\u00a0 But, being a farmer, I am fully aware that the same planting does not always reap the same harvest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We talk about our organization needing modernization.\u00a0 Much is said about keeping an open mind. \u00a0This virtue is worthy of praise, but it should not stop there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our minds should be always enquiring, not simply accepting new ideas, but exploring them, establishing their credibility, helping the good ones to become implanted and nourishing them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is where research becomes so important.\u00a0 Research, in essence, is an organized way of discovering the truths and merits of an idea.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nearly all of us, (I’m no exception) waste more valuable time excusing ourselves with “not having the time<\/em>“<\/span> than with any other excuse for our lack of achievement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Small amounts soon build into large amounts.\u00a0 A few minutes a day soon add up to hours of wasted time and finally we realize that ‘time’<\/em><\/span> has passed us by.<\/p>\n Each of us, in looking at life, seeks to make the best of our place in it. Life is a succession of challenges and a realization of basic values.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n It is up to us as individuals, to pick and choose that which is important to us, and to mankind.<\/p>\n In short, to live, we must act.\u00a0 To act, we must make choices.\u00a0 To make choices, we must consider values and values are determined by little things. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In life, we have two paths to follow: to the one side – fear, hatred, envy; to the other side – confidence, love, sharing.\u00a0 Let us follow the Masonic path.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adapted from a paper by: <\/em>Orvil E. Mything<\/em><\/strong>, Grand Master; Published in<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n THE TRACING BOARD, GRS<\/em><\/strong>;\u00a0 March 1987.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Comment<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I find it amazing that articles, such as this one, appear as if out of nowhere, at a time when work loads get high and end objectives get challenged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thank you G.A.O.T.U.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When do we become a Mason?\u00a0 After the First Degree?\u00a0 When we become a Fellowcraft?\u00a0 or not until we become a Master Mason? The answer is quite simple,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-educator"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"MasterMason","author_link":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/author\/mastermason\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"The Educator<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":" When do we become a Mason?\u00a0 After the First Degree?\u00a0 When we become a Fellowcraft?\u00a0 or not until we become a Master Mason? The answer is quite simple,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashlarcollege.ca\/ashlar-archived\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}