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Lost Generation?
- Thread starter owls84
- Start date
HKTidwell
Premium Member
Mixed thoughts to be honest.
Personal story (I'm 29)
I grew up in a house of parents who stayed together, dad worked long hours but church was the one thing that was not missed, Dad is my best friend in life.
My friends story
I would say 50% of my friends had divorced parents, they were left making decisions they were not capable of making in a informed manner, money was the solution to solve problems.
They are looking for some solid stability in life. A good friend of mine, one of the few from my youth I stay in contact with, visited church with us, and is now looking to create a stable foundation for his step son, and wife. He is looking for the bigger picture and wants stability in his family life. Even though I don't remember him going to church with us that much it was one of the things he talked about at his wedding. It was a foundation which at the time he didn't know but looking back helped him.
So I think they are searching for the bigger picture, that searching has taken them in many different directions but they are still searching. They want a close knit foundation who gives guidance. This has pluses but I can see some drawbacks. Masonry needs people who are searching and they are searching. If you are not searching then you probably should reevaluate why you are a Mason (IMHO). This feeds into my thoughts on knowledge, we only stop learning when we close our mind or are dead. Drawbacks they do not have a solid foundation to build upon. While the best stones are the ones which have not been touched with a chisel, you better be a Master Craftsman to bring out the beauty it contains. Are our lodges and brothers, Master Craftsman who can help shape, chisel, and shine that stone into the beauty that is dying to come to the surface? This gets back to how we are handling the members, are we just going through the motions or are we enlightening, building and truly teaching?
I hope this makes sense it is just my jumbled thoughts which I have tried to separate into logical comments.
Edit Notes: I believe there are four things which make us whole. Spiritual, Physical, Mental, and Emotional. Church/religion/spirituality fulfills one of the key things but is not the sole solution.
Personal story (I'm 29)
I grew up in a house of parents who stayed together, dad worked long hours but church was the one thing that was not missed, Dad is my best friend in life.
My friends story
I would say 50% of my friends had divorced parents, they were left making decisions they were not capable of making in a informed manner, money was the solution to solve problems.
They are looking for some solid stability in life. A good friend of mine, one of the few from my youth I stay in contact with, visited church with us, and is now looking to create a stable foundation for his step son, and wife. He is looking for the bigger picture and wants stability in his family life. Even though I don't remember him going to church with us that much it was one of the things he talked about at his wedding. It was a foundation which at the time he didn't know but looking back helped him.
So I think they are searching for the bigger picture, that searching has taken them in many different directions but they are still searching. They want a close knit foundation who gives guidance. This has pluses but I can see some drawbacks. Masonry needs people who are searching and they are searching. If you are not searching then you probably should reevaluate why you are a Mason (IMHO). This feeds into my thoughts on knowledge, we only stop learning when we close our mind or are dead. Drawbacks they do not have a solid foundation to build upon. While the best stones are the ones which have not been touched with a chisel, you better be a Master Craftsman to bring out the beauty it contains. Are our lodges and brothers, Master Craftsman who can help shape, chisel, and shine that stone into the beauty that is dying to come to the surface? This gets back to how we are handling the members, are we just going through the motions or are we enlightening, building and truly teaching?
I hope this makes sense it is just my jumbled thoughts which I have tried to separate into logical comments.
Edit Notes: I believe there are four things which make us whole. Spiritual, Physical, Mental, and Emotional. Church/religion/spirituality fulfills one of the key things but is not the sole solution.
Last edited:
HKTidwell
Premium Member
On a different note if you look at America as a whole I think you can see that we all struggle with these four things. Spiritual look at the number of crazy cults we have had, churches, and religions that are rampant in America but most are struggling membership wise now. Physical how many surgeries are out there to make people feel/look better, slim down, or otherwise alter life with out dealing with the root causes. Mental ADHD, Depression, bi-polar, etc.. I'm not belittling these things by any means because they are grave issues but typically the first thing we do is give medicine instead of looking at root causes. Emotional, we can see this in divorce rates, adultery, and other emotionally derived issues.
The reason I bring this up is I don't think that this searching is limited to just this generation but I think the past couple of generations have dealt with it in the pursuit of jobs, money and passions.
The reason I bring this up is I don't think that this searching is limited to just this generation but I think the past couple of generations have dealt with it in the pursuit of jobs, money and passions.