Hi Jeremy
How is it good if standards have been lowered? Might as well call yourself a sticker mason.
I am not sure what a "sticker mason" is but I can guess... it reminds me of a PM at a lodge I used to visit who spoke of 'west wind masons" because men would blow in and out of the west end of the lodge, never doing much. I would suggest they did that because they heard his speak of "west wind masons" which condemned rather than encouraged....two such "west wind masons" from that very lodge are now PMs of my mother lodge after transfer , good Freemasons and very good friends..... and the lodge where that PM used to talk about "west wind masons" ? It's warrant went in and for one reason - people were not positive, and they were not willing to change, and those voices held sway.
Don't worry brother if "standards have been lowered" it makes it much easier to lift them, and if not, then that's good too - win win !
I stand by the above, because it is optimistic. You will never able to achieve "high standards" without optimism.
I also know Lodges, and indeed the whole craft, ebb and flow.. for me, there is only one standard we should not move one - the high standard of the character of candidates, but that too changes, we admit gay men, once we may not have and some places still dont (friendly nod to Bro Oscar Wilde and all gay brothers), we admit divorced men, once we many not have and its not even a question on a petition or considered in any place I am aware of, we admit people from certain religions and ethnic groups where we may not have, and we are only able to do so because standards change (up or down depending on one's view, but I think most people would say up because admitting a black Muslim of good character is Masonic, but might not have happened in some states in recent history. If your "lowering of standards" is about colour, race or religion, then you must ask yourself if Freemasonry is the right fit for you, and indeed in all things look to, and in, yourself before you start worrying about others.. leading by example is very important.)
I spent several years looking after a mentally ill niece 10 years my junior, my goal was to keep her alive and get her independent. It took 4 years and was frankly harrowing. I tried all sorts of things for her and one was together reading a book on recovery which had a line I it I will never forget "If something is worth doing, then it is worth doing
badly.". I will never forget it because I dont set out to do things badly, no no no, I set out to do them well, but the book argued to get better you need to start trying things and failure will be part of the trying, but it will get better and easier. I think "If something is worth doing, then it is worth doing badly" is actually quite profound and as someone with a bit of perfectionism about me (not in spelling and typing lol...sorry) it is a great thing to remember, because little in life is perfect...
Freemasonry might not be perfect, but "If something is worth doing, then it is worth doing badly.".. because in the doing, one day you will get to the point where you want it to be.. and let's not forget, Freemasonry primary purpose is to change the individual, to change you so that's where you should always start with your problems, with the questions "what can I do to make things better?"
I'm a 3x PM of two lodges, one, my mother lodge known for being friendly and its masonic spirit, the other for being friendly, young, kids and family and some of the best ritual work around at the moment (I am DC there and the team will tell you I'm very interested in standards, I'm not, I am interested in learning, "standards" are just a byproduct of that....). Standards are very important, but neither of these lodges have been able to hold the same standard in the last decade. They have ebbed and flowed, but what makes them both great is they are interesting in improvement because they realize they are doing something they enjoy and is worthwhile.
If you're not enjoying or doing something you believe in, you need to make adjustments to make at least one of those two things a reality for yourself. That might mean leaving Freemasonry, it might mean changing lodges, it might just mean walking into your current lodge with a new attitude.
Fed up, and just about done with masonry
For me, Freemasonry is about finding a better me. I can't see how I will ever be done with that...