Life begins each morning, no matter whether we are 20, 60, or, as in my case, 110 (Now 114). Life is a school, not a prison nor a palace of ease, but a place of instruction for moral and spiritual training. The entire course of the Great School of Life is an education for virtue, happiness, and a future existence. Let us take care we learn, rather than complain. Let us hold to the values of integrity, kindness of heart, and self-respect. Life is for those who comprehend its lofty mission. It asks of us nothing that is not possible. The more one learns, the more he or she acquires the faculty of learning. The true use of knowledge is to distinguish good from evil. Knowledge is the most genuine and real of human treasures.
Life is a great teacher of truth, but do not expect easily to convince men and women of the truth. What is truth to one, is not truth to another. What is true in one country may be false in another. What is untrue today may become true in another generation. All truths are of a period and not truths for eternity. Do not lose sight, then, of the true object of your studies in Scottish Rite Masonry. It is to add to your wisdom and not merely to your knowledge.
A people as well as an individual must learn to forget. If one neither learns the new nor forgets the old, he is fated to fail. To unlearn is to learn. That which we are doing, good or evil, that which we do today, and shall do tomorrow, each thought, each feeling, each action, each event—all are contributing to form the character by which we are judged.
To live free is a privilege, and life's length is not measured by its hours and days, but by what we have done. A useless life is short if it lasts a century. A thing is not just because God wills it, but God wills it because it is just. All the earth is created for our use, and we are created that we may do good. There are greater and better things in us all if we would find them out—more devotion, generosity, and self-sacrifice. There are those who give little of the much they have. Be faithful to the promises you make, to the pledges you give, and to the vows you assume, since to break any of these is base and dishonorable. Such a person is false to his friends, his family, and his God.
We never know what anything means or is worth until we have lost it. Our body performs for years, and we are quite unconscious of its value. Not until we become ill or are injured do we discover the body's value and find how essential it is to our happiness and comfort.
We are all naturally seekers of wonders. We travel far to the majesty of old ruins, great waterfalls, lofty mountains, and beautiful galleries of art. Yet the world's wonders are all around us—setting suns and evening stars, the magic of springtime, the fruition of fall, the rest of winter. Heaven is above us, all around us, and close to us. There is more here than the world we live in. Unseen and infinite Presence is here. Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupation? Who can spread his hours saying this for God, and this for my fellowman, and this for myself? Faith must infuse all of life and is necessary for attaining the great ends of life. We cannot grow healthfully nor live happily without faith, whatever faith we profess. Faith is a mystery, but we all know we have been put upon the earth to live in it, to enjoy it, and to make it better. It is our home, and we are here to love it and render happiness to those around us and who will come after us. Formed, framed and furnished, this earth is a thing to be thankful for and treasure, not to destroy or exploit.
The mystery of the world remains unknown. Most of the questions of life, which have bothered the minds of men and women throughout time, are not within the reach of our human intellect to understand. Yet nature is full of religious lessons to thoughtful man and woman. Religion is the recognition of duty in harmony with goodness that will have, through the justice of God, its fullest realization in another life. This is the day the Lord has made; we should be glad and rejoice in it. He has given us new opportunities, new aims, and new life. Life begins today, and I offer this valediction for today and every day:
Lift mine eyes from earth and let me not forget the uses of the stars. Forbid that I should judge others, lest I condemn myself. Let me feel the glory of the world, but walk calmly in my path. Give me a few friends who love me for what I am and keep ever burning before my vagrant footsteps the kindly light of hope. Though age and infirmity overtake me, and I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams, teach me still to be thankful for life and for time's golden moments that are good and sweet.
May the evening twilight find me gentle still. And if you remember me only with tears, then don't remember me at all.
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Walter Breuning
was born in Melrose, Minnesota, on September 21, 1896. He worked for the Great North Railroad from 1913 to 1963. A member of Great Falls, Montana, Lodge No. 118 since 1925 (Master 1934), he served as Lodge Secretary for 25 years. Since joining the Scottish Rite in 1937, Valley of Great Falls, he has served on various work committees, including Director of Work, from 1940 to 1985. Bro. Breuning served as Venerable Master in 1950, received the K.C.C.H. in 1949, and was coroneted an I.G.H. in 1958. He is a frequent speaker for Masonic occasions and is still active in a number of Masonic groups including the Shrine, DeMolay, Royal Order of Scotland, and Royal Order of Jesters.
Source: http://www.srmason-sj.org/
