Renewal

Embracing change

It’s an oft repeated saying that the only things certain in life are death and taxes.

I think that misses something, at least in our modern world.

I think it misses change.

Our world is changing constantly, and if we are to thrive, we have to change right along with it. We have to change in our personal lives, and we have to allow our Lodges to change. If we don’t we can’t reach our potentials.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Melinda and I didn’t do much at all this Easter. We’ve both been sick, so instead of our usual house full of people, it was just us and the dog, kicking back and relaxing.

Easter celebrates rebirth, and I realize that I had rebirth and rejuvenation on my mind all day. Our lives may be fixed, our Lodges may be fixed, and we may well see them as perfect just the way they are.

But even if they are perfect for us now, the world around us is constantly changing, so they won’t remain perfect in the future.

That points us to a need for continual improvement.

We’ve got to keep up with changing circumstances, or the world will leave us behind.

No, I’m not saying that we have to give in to our tech overlords, or the surveillance State, or embrace some new political theory. But I am arguing that with each passing year things exist in our world that didn’t exist in the past. And we have to figure out how to thrive in a world with those things, whatever they might be.

Freemasonry teaches us this. Its lessons encourage us onto a lifelong pathway of self improvement. We do well to heed those teachings. To ensure that we don’t become stuck or ossified, particularly that we don’t continually repeat bad patterns in our life.

This goes for our Lodges as well.

On Easter Eve one of the very finest ritualists in my Jurisdiction gave me a call, and we had a long conversation. Most of that talk was an exploration of his ideas for improving our Degrees. Not changing the Work, but ways in which the work can be performed for greater impact.

And that is what we must do.

Strive for constant improvement in the Lodge experience.

Why?

Because the men of today aren’t exactly like the men of ten years ago, or twenty, or fifty, or one hundred. They grew up in a different world, and that means that they come to us with different ideas and expectations.

We have to meet them where they are. And ten years from now, they will have to meet those men where they are.

The only way we do this is through rebirth and renewal. Through constant improvement. That’s how we thrive in life, and that’s how our Lodges can thrive.