Earlier today I read the following words from Alan Watts:
The poets and sages have, indeed, been saying for centuries that success in this world is vanity. “The worldly hope men set their hearts upon turns ashes”…
That quote made me think about two men I know well. Both are men I like and admire. While I don’t like to think about it, both, due to age and infirmity will soon be Traveling To That Undiscovered Country.
But, these men are both quite different from each other.
One is wildly successful, by the standards our society has seemingly set. He’s had financial success, more honors and awards than could probably be counted, holds tremendous influence, and high position.
The other has not. He’s lived a simpler life, a life without that tremendous financial success, wide influence, or high position. He has not, by popularly held standards, achieved the best our life can offer.
But, comparing these two men, things become a great deal more complicated than that.
Now that he is nearing the end of his life, it is becoming extremely obvious that the man widely viewed to be extremely successful has thousands of acquaintances, but no close friends. Children and grandchildren who apparently do not like him, for they very rarely see him, this despite living quite close. His wife divorced him long ago, leaving him with almost no one in his life but a part time, fairly casual girlfriend.
The other man is constantly busy with children, grandchildren, friends, and a loyal wife. He’s surrounded by people who love him and want to be with him.
Freemasonry teaches us to contemplate our own individual mortality.
In some Lodges this is plain as day. Go sit with the symbols of memento mori.
In other Lodges, this is much more subdued.
But in all of our Lodges, this urging for us to contemplate our mortality exists.
Part of that has to be, I think, careful consideration of what we individually define as success in our lives. Do we wish to be like the first man who gave everything to his career so will die with much material wealth, but virtually no one to truly mourn? Or do we wish to be like the second man who may not leave financial wealth, but will leave a wealth of relationships?
What will each eventually regret while laying on their deathbeds?
While in that state, will material gain mean anything at all?
As young kids, I think we probably all fantasized about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I don’t know that very many of us ever follow those paths, after all, there are only so many job openings for astronauts and cowboys. But the act is important anyway, for it opens our mind to all the possibilities before us. It helps, in a subtle way, to put us on a path.
Much like that, as adults, as Masons, I think we all do well to contemplate our own end of life. How do we want to be remembered? What do we want to be known for?
We must decide, what is truly important in life.
And, if after sober contemplation, we see that we should amend our life, we should seize the moment to do so. For the hourglass runs fast.
Leave a legacy that will extend through our posterity even when we cross the veil