Kinda not feeling it...

I like my lodge. I'm sitting in the South this year. I've lost interest though. I'll likely stick it out the remainder of the year but I have no desire to sit in the West and eventually the East. Maybe due to work, other things I have going on. Or the lack luster monotony of the same o same o. I've been excited about Masonry before. Then lost the excitement. Gained it back, and lost it again. Hell, maybe it's not the lodge but just something with me. That's likely the case. I feel terrible about feeling this way. I know I'm not supposed to. I know I'm supposed to be all gung ho and such. I'm just not there anymore. Maybe it'll change again. Maybe I just need to go watch National Treasurer again. Anyway, I'm just venting. Not expecting any 'great wisdom' or anything from anyone. Just typing how I feel into this box and pressing 'Create Thread'.

 

Funnily enough, I watched it last night

 

I hear you and it sounds like you're pretty fed up with it. If you need to step away, as you mentioned, that may be best until you can recapture that hunger or need for lodge. I hope it all works out and maybe you can start making some changes in your lodge in the future.

 

I lost the freemasonic wind 4 months into the JW chair. Told the Secretary I was not continuing up the line after my year. I stepped into the musician spot shortly after my term was up and have been there ever since. Best decision I could have ever made.

I felt the same way you shared. Until I realized all the hype was supposed to make me feel terrible about not being motivated. There are a lot of Brotherly messages that caused me unnecessary guilt and shame that I had to battle within and without. I've come to recognize I am simply not invested in anything other than providing candidates a better experience of the degrees than I had - hence the music and the educational efforts.

The other activities, biz meetings, proficiencies, fundraisers, etc., I simply have no interest in any of them. I've come to peace with the fact that I fill a niche that is best for me in the organization and that is best for the organization as well.

 

I'm sorry to hear this Brother.

 

Nothing to feel terrible about. To lose interest is not a moral failing. If anything, I commend you for candor.

 

As has been said, nothing to feel bad about. I would suggest you tell your WM of your intentions ASAP.

I know in my Lodge it is a huge struggle to fill a gap in the progressive line. We are struggling with a similar issue. Our SD from last year has not been able to pass proficiency for the JW position and it is being filled currently by PMs on a month to month basis. The current plan is for a PM to run for SW next year and we are hoping the SD can get the work done and be eligible for JW for 2020. Based on his abilities the DDGM has already asked me if I was willing to serve 2 years in the East if that is necessary.

Do everyone in your Lodge a favor and let them know your feelings ASAP.

 

In one of my lodges the same Brother has been the WM three years running for the same reason.

 

That is a concern for me as well. If he struggles with the EA the MM Degree is going to be even worse!

What really blows me away is the struggle people have learning the degree work. In my 3 short years in the Lodge we have had 3 people drop out of the Line as Deacons as they say they can't learn the work. The biggest thing for me is that in many other jurisdictions these folks would never had made it to FC if they truly can't learn as the most difficult parts are required to be memorized to show proficiency for advancement elsewhere!

 

Again, we have similar problems. I don't think that it is a matter of "can't" learn the work, it is not wanting to put forth the time and effort. I say this because of myself. Because my home lodge was very short of members my first office was that of Senior Deacon. I had to learn a lot of things in a short period of time requiring memorization including ritual. I managed to do it and I consider myself of average intelligence. Granted, I am retired and have a lot more time to devote to such things. But I would have gotten it no matter the stage of my life because I really wanted to do it no matter what other demands that were placed upon me. One of my mentors who is highly regarded for his skills of memorization (funeral rites, officer installations, etc.,) said that when he was a young man just entering Masonry he would carry his Monitor with him wherever he went and whenever he had a spare minute or two he would study it.

 

I agree with you 100% Warrior, the majority truly could learn the work if they put in the effort. For me to learn the 1st was easy as we had a busy year the year I was learning it and I participated as JMC, JD or SD in all of them so soaked it up that way. For the FC I poured over the Ritual Manual and proactively scheduled time with a few PMs to go through it. I just started working on the MM degree, I conferred a FC Degree a week ago and didn't want both swirling in my head so put off working on the 3rd until I did the FC Degree. Had a good start as we went through the MM Degree at District School last night! Odd thing is, none of the guys who dropped out of the line ever darkened the door of a District School! A lot of it is directly proportional to the work you are willing to put into it!

And just to be clear, I am in no way putting forth any criticism of KentuckyMason here. There is a big difference in my mind between realizing you have no desire to go through all the chairs vs. saying you DO want to and claiming you just can't do the work.

 

I absolutely agree! We are discussing those that claim that the memorization is too hard, not someone that is deciding what is or is not best for them.

 

Sorry to hear this Kentucky.. You seem to have a "what" but do you know "why" ?

After 15 years, three times through the Chair, I actually struggled late last year in both my lodges. it was for different reasons, too much degree work in one, disharmony in another, and I got to the point where things felt a bit hopeless.. I felt I was not able to immediately take a step back, because I was supporting the two Masters in office, but Christmas gave me a break. Back into it again, but I could easily see it would have been easy to give up...

 

I felt the same way after moving to a new city and lodge. I got over involved in lodge, Commandery, Shrine, and ended up not liking any of them anymore. Some of it was a busy schedule, some not liking my new place, and some the members I was dealing with. A lot of prima donnas and a feeling that this wasn't what I wanted out of masonry. I felt guilty at first, but once I made the leap it was a wonderful weight off my shoulders. I haven't attended a lodge event in 3 or 4 years now and while sometimes I get a twinge of missing it, it quickly passes when I realize that practice that night is probably a round robin question and answer session of which I don't care for.

 

Personally I have found lodge to be but one part of the freemasonic experience-
I get a lot of satisfaction from learning and exploring the work, reading the works of well studied brethren and so on.
Delivering work is a joy for me and it’s nice to share a meal with brethren but the Masonic journey in my opinion isn’t a group effort.

 

Here's my two cents:

It's like when you first joined the fraternity, everything was your choice from the beginning. You made the choice to ask, to petition, to go through with your investigation and eventually your three degrees. The reason I believe we allow the candidate the "free will and accord" all the way through is to preserve the passion of the craft. If there is no passion, there is no craft. If you need a break from it, take it! Nothing wrong with that. My mentor, a PM, took a break from doing WM after his year in the East even though the lodge wanted him to do another year. Now that he's taken the break, he's on track to be WM next year again. Sometimes the break is what we all need to find what made us want to be in the fraternity from the beginning.

 

I’ve been there before. I was in-line.. was thinking of dropping out. It was my first chair marshal. I understand getting in-line is a way to serve your lodge. We have a great lodge. But we needed in my opinion more lectures and education. So when I wasn’t getting what I was really in need of. I started to lose interest. Now Also being a newer mason everyone isn’t so quick to give you a thumbs up to join one of the other bodies. Like Scottish rite in my case. And I understand why. If you get to involved in other bodies. You might not come back to your mother lodge. So I made the Decision to join the Scottish rite to relight my flame .Scottish rite was exactly what I needed. And I said to myself before joining the Scottish rite that if I find what i am craving .. which is a deeper understanding of it all. That instead of stepping down at my mother lodge. I would step up.
the position of Junior Deacon Opened up. And was unclaimed. So I asked to be considered for
The position. Proudly I say I was appointed Junior Deacon and will begin to serve as soon
As we come back from break.

 

I'm unsure of your other affiliations but maybe you are just in search of more light. Perhaps the Scottish Rite. It will open a whole other level of Masonry for you.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

The more I think about it I feel much the same about my mother lodge currently- I never hear from my brothers even if I contact them direct bar one, I have tried expressing interest in various things to get more involved but not a lot of luck there and last week I got an email from them but it was just a dues statement.
I don’t know... I’m liable for another years dues and currently holding an office but may decline to accept a new office while I figure it out