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Question...
- Thread starter TCShelton
- Start date
Texas_Justice85
Registered User
not sure how qualified I am to answer this, I am only an FC and have been a Mason for a few months. However, we have all heard the saying you get out of it as much as you put in. But Masonry to me has been much more rewarding than that. Most of these guys barely know me, but they have gone completely out of their way whenever I needed anything. Even for my FC degree one person even dropped a night of spending time with grandkids to confer my degree. Something as simple as that really made me glad I petitioned. All of which I will do the same for should the opportunity call. I had the unfortunate opportunity of witnessing a Masonic funeral when our Lodge Secretary passed away recently. The way they regarded him with such honor was almost overwhelming. I also had the opportunity to tour a childrens' hospital with a group of them and was a part of brightening those kids' day. Even though they are in so much pain and the undetermined amount of time they have left, the smile on their face because you played a game of checkers is a feeling that will never go away. I cant tell you how great it feels to be around that environment (because you already know). Every night after leaving a stated meeting I feel like a productive part of society and the mood Im in is always more positive and cheerful than when I went in. The brotherhood is unbelievable, but its the works that makes it that much special. Thats what Masonry means to me in this point of my work. They also have a special suprise for me when I go to Grand Lodge so hopefully you guys can be there to witness it with me.
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Well Brother, if you are qualified enough to take the Obligation, you are qualified enough to have an opinion in my eyes.
J
JEbeling
Guest
thought about how to answer this question for a while.. ! so here goes.. !
I joined lodge very young and have been a mason for a lot of years.. ! I have traveled a lot with my job and have ran into masons' all over the world.. ! I think the first thing that hit me as a young man was that where ever you were.. ! or what ever country you were in.. ! the min I met another mason we were instant friends.. !
The tenents of Freemasonary taught me a lot about how to treat other people.. ! for a agressive young man it gave me a place where I never felt I had to explain myself.. ! it was like being around family.. !
The eastern star gave my wife the confidence to do things she would never have pictured herself doing.. ! and gave her a great sence of accomplishment.. !
But now as an older mason teaching younger ones their work it give me a sence of passing on something that is good.. ! a system of living that has everthing to do with religon but not tied to any one religon .. ! it gives me a chance to incorage younger to better themself with a new look at life and the furture.. ! it give them a sence of accomplishment.. ! when you put on a degree or do the lecture.. ! its not that the world will put it on the front page of the paper but its your own sence of pride... ! not that going thru the chairs or holding some office will inpress the people around you who are not masons but its your pride in learning the work from a teacher and passing on his time he spent with you under some tree or on the porch... ! his time can never be repayed except by teaching the work to some else.. !
hope that answer you question.. !
I joined lodge very young and have been a mason for a lot of years.. ! I have traveled a lot with my job and have ran into masons' all over the world.. ! I think the first thing that hit me as a young man was that where ever you were.. ! or what ever country you were in.. ! the min I met another mason we were instant friends.. !
The tenents of Freemasonary taught me a lot about how to treat other people.. ! for a agressive young man it gave me a place where I never felt I had to explain myself.. ! it was like being around family.. !
The eastern star gave my wife the confidence to do things she would never have pictured herself doing.. ! and gave her a great sence of accomplishment.. !
But now as an older mason teaching younger ones their work it give me a sence of passing on something that is good.. ! a system of living that has everthing to do with religon but not tied to any one religon .. ! it gives me a chance to incorage younger to better themself with a new look at life and the furture.. ! it give them a sence of accomplishment.. ! when you put on a degree or do the lecture.. ! its not that the world will put it on the front page of the paper but its your own sence of pride... ! not that going thru the chairs or holding some office will inpress the people around you who are not masons but its your pride in learning the work from a teacher and passing on his time he spent with you under some tree or on the porch... ! his time can never be repayed except by teaching the work to some else.. !
hope that answer you question.. !
Wingnut
Premium Member
For many years I’ve felt there has to be something more. “This” cant be all there is to it. I’ve always had a sense that something was missing, that I needed more. During my 21 years in the U.S. Air Force I always had a sense of belonging, camaraderie, friendship, and maybe most important of all – a feeling of accomplishment only known by those that know what they do matters! Since I retired there has just been an emptiness that’s hard to explain or understand.
I’ve known many military retirees that have had issues coping with ‘being on the outside’. I’ve seen and heard of a lot of marriages failing and even a few people that just went into a deep depression and took their own life. Including my best friend. While working on another project I was researching markings on tombstones trying to catalog all the different symbols you commonly find. One item I found a lot was the Square and Compass and other Masonic symbols. The more I researched the more I got interested in Freemasonry.
As far as I know, there haven’t been any Freemasons in my family. During my lifetime, I’ve only known a few Masons. So I’m a Masonic Virgin, I didn’t have a base of reference or for that matter even a working knowledge of the Craft. The more I read the more I wanted to know. The more I got to know the more I wondered if Freemasonry was right for me.
American novelist Don Williams, Jr. once said "Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." So it is with Freemasonary. Our path isnt to reach the top of the staircase, to get that 33º, it is to become the best person we can, to make good men better.
Im still working on learning to use the Compasses as intended and Im sad to admit I fail more often that I wish. As our late Bro. Theron Dunn used to say "It's not about me changing them, its about me changing me"
I’ve known many military retirees that have had issues coping with ‘being on the outside’. I’ve seen and heard of a lot of marriages failing and even a few people that just went into a deep depression and took their own life. Including my best friend. While working on another project I was researching markings on tombstones trying to catalog all the different symbols you commonly find. One item I found a lot was the Square and Compass and other Masonic symbols. The more I researched the more I got interested in Freemasonry.
As far as I know, there haven’t been any Freemasons in my family. During my lifetime, I’ve only known a few Masons. So I’m a Masonic Virgin, I didn’t have a base of reference or for that matter even a working knowledge of the Craft. The more I read the more I wanted to know. The more I got to know the more I wondered if Freemasonry was right for me.
American novelist Don Williams, Jr. once said "Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." So it is with Freemasonary. Our path isnt to reach the top of the staircase, to get that 33º, it is to become the best person we can, to make good men better.
Im still working on learning to use the Compasses as intended and Im sad to admit I fail more often that I wish. As our late Bro. Theron Dunn used to say "It's not about me changing them, its about me changing me"
We all do- nothing to be ashamed of unless & until we quit trying to improve. The process of self-improvement and the fellowship of the Brethren are also what keeps me being a Mason.
To me masonry is a World Wide Brotherhood that is filled with good men that share a common bond of Brotherly Love for the Craft and each other. There is a sense of overwhelming pride and feeling of accomplishment in the completion of the work. No other organization can boast that no matter where they are in the world there will always be a brother willing to open his arms, heart and home for one another. There is a sense of peace in knowing that I am a better man to my family and community by striving to live by the code of conduct set forth by the G.A.o.t.U. That's what masonry means to me.
The craft is showing me so much. Seems at times to be a bit overwhelming but after digesting it I see that what I am searching for I knew all along. It is like my life is a Dan Brown book where the answer is there but I have to quit looking at what is infront of me. Masonry is not teaching me how to be a leader or how to help my neighbor as I originally thought. It is helping me be me. It is helping find myself and make me happy. By doing so people around me change making my life that much better.
It is a rough path and I have taken wrong turns and there are times that I feel like JTM's illusion he posted in the off topic section but I know there is progress. I hope this makes sense. As JTM put it, I am a very rough ashlar hoping that my Brothers that have taken this journey before me can only shine the light as I walk the path.
That to me is what Masonry is.
It is a rough path and I have taken wrong turns and there are times that I feel like JTM's illusion he posted in the off topic section but I know there is progress. I hope this makes sense. As JTM put it, I am a very rough ashlar hoping that my Brothers that have taken this journey before me can only shine the light as I walk the path.
That to me is what Masonry is.
I have to ask what better way is there to help a nieghbor than to be a happy person?
and
I know I would rather be lead by someone who knows himself and is happy with it, come to think of it you will never see a leader without these qualities or at least a good leader anyway.
Self improvement is the key to it all, that is why our motto is "Making Good Men Better"
Sirius
Registered User
I think this reflects my experience of Masonry. It makes me a happier person, so I am more useful to my fellow man. How does it make me happy? It provides a trestleboard to follow in my personal labors to be the very best I can be. To achieve my personal best - intellectually, physically, psychologically, and spiritually.
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