Shock
And how a Lodge reacts to it
Every Lodge, sooner or later, will receive a powerful negative shock.
Maybe the Lodge will elect a completely unsuitable Worshipful Master. Maybe it will face a financial crisis. Maybe a Brother will betray everyone’s trust. Maybe immorality will lift its ugly head. Maybe it is an untimely death. The number of bad things that could happen is limitless, but whatever it might be, eventually something really bad will afflict every Lodge.
How the Lodge reacts to whatever comes to suddenly afflict it is the difference between success and failure.
I’m often asked what I liked about being Grand Master. Interestingly though, I’m more often asked what I disliked about being Grand Master.
That’s probably good, because I find the dislike question a lot easier to answer.
The bad thing about being Grand Master is that you now know about all the bad things that happen.
When I was a newer Mason, just hanging out at my Lodge, I got to be blissfully unaware of all the bad things that might have been going on. I knew what was happening in my Lodge. I sometimes heard about what was happening in Lodges near to my Lodge. But I never had to hear about bad things going on in Lodges outside of my little corner of the world.
And frankly, that was a good state of being.
As Grand Master, when something really bad happens, well you are the first person called. So there it is, the bad part of being Grand Master.
But as a result of all of this, I also had a really strong opportunity to see first hand how Lodges react when something really bad happens.
In my experience, Lodges react in one of three ways, and how they do indicates if they will succeed or fail.
The first reaction is resignation and defeat. I watched a Lodge get hit with a very serious shock. The men who composed the Lodge went from being very excited about the future, to utterly depressed about the future. Not just some men, the entire Lodge. They focused exclusively on what they had lost, turning away from what they still retained. Everything was about their loss, and in a short time one of our Jurisdiction’s oldest Lodges no longer existed.
The second reaction is a desire to save the Lodge, without possessing the human resources necessary to do so. I watched a Lodge suffer multiple shocks over the course of a few short years. The men composing it never lost the will to create a thriving Lodge, but each shock resulted in fewer men being a part of the Lodge. While working so hard to turn the Lodge around, no one really recognized that the number of men doing that work was falling to unsustainable levels. A few months after the final shock the Lodge closed. There just weren’t enough men remaining for it to survive.
The third reaction is jumping right back up, grabbing control of things, and keeping right on going. Based on my experience watching Lodges in bad situations, I think this all comes down to mindset. A realization that bad stuff is going to happen, and that when it does, it can’t be dwelt upon. A plan is made to ensure that whatever happened is less likely to happen again. A second plan is made to get the Lodge back to full functioning. And the Brothers just jump right in and get it done. Not ignoring what happened, but not letting it get them down either. When Lodges can do this they prove to be amazingly resilient. They survive and they thrive once again.
It is largely mindset.
And we can ensure that our Lodge is ready to meet any and all challenges if we collectively hold a good mindset.
That means realizing that while we don’t know what bad thing will happen to our Lodge, sooner or later something bad will happen. In that way we aren’t completely shocked when a severe challenge comes, we aren’t caught utterly off guard, we don’t wallow in collective self pity.
If we can do that, when the shock comes, we will find our Lodge in a very strong position to fight for its ultimate survival.
Have I got a treat for you!
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Much more than just Freemasonry, I hope you enjoy!
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We often hear about the human reaction in potentially dangerous situations where the focus is on fight or flight. We don't often think about the human reaction to lesser situations that don't involve danger to life. As you mention, there is despair and resignation, the desire to "fix it" without the resources, and the action of managing it and getting things back on track.
A key aspect of the latter two are the human resources. You need the entire team on board and with the same resolve. If any one of them are still in the despair stage, they need to be brought out of it or asked to step aside so that the "team" can be fully functional and heading in the same direction.
I recall many years ago, my now, late wife, and I, were on our way back home from visiting friends. It was late evening, early night time. As we drove past a small row of houses, out of the corner of my eye, I saw what I thought was smoke coming from the roof of one small house. I slowed down and took a look back at the house, and sure enough, there was.
I immediately turned the car around and drove back to the house, parked the car, and started running toward the house. My wife was screaming at me to stop what I was doing. Asking if I was crazy.
I told her to go the neighboring house and call the fire department. No cell phones at that time.
She was stuck there watching me instead.
By this time, more people are stopping and the neighbors are aware now, and someone has called the fire department. I asked one of the neighbors if they knew whether the people were home or not. They didn't know for sure.
So, understanding and knowing the dangers of opening a door to a house that has smoke coming out of it, I was not about to enter the house.
Instead, another person and I want around to the doors and windows, banging loudly, to see if we could get the attention of anyone in the house.
The fire department arrived and went to work on the fire. As suspected, once the door was opened, the flames erupted. But as they were battling that aspect of the fire, the other person who had gone around the back of the house, was able to arouse the occupants and they crawled out that back bedroom window.
Outside of smoke inhalation, nobody was seriously injured, and nobody died in the fire.
I'm still not sure what made me run toward the house with a thought of helping in any way I can, but there it was.
In another surprise to me, on how I reacted to something, happened a few months ago.
For two weeks, I was having digestive issues. Bloating, gas, even at one point, vomiting. It made no sense to me at all.
I started to research the symptoms and they all pointed to colorectal cancer. I knew that my father had cancer of the bowel. He had surgery to remove that portion and then some chemo, and survived it. I knew that my last colonoscopy required removal of a few "items" but nothing too serious. I am due for my next "inspection" and need to get it scheduled.
So, here I am thinking that I might be facing a challenge ahead with one of our leading causes of death. What did I do? Well, at first of course was the thought that I need to get it verified before jumping to any conclusions, but the part that surprised the heck out of me was my calm and rational thoughts about "what now"?
What did I focus on? How do I set my wife up to handle the potential outcome? How do I help my son deal with the potential loss, when I am the only family he has here in U.S.? All of our family is 3000 miles away on the atlantic coast of Canada. He lost his mother when he was 18 (he's now 33), so losing his father would be a big blow.
How do I help my new grandson? I want him to have the best of opportunities in life, so I need to find a way to make that happen for him.
In all, my mind was going through the immediate liquidation of items that my wife and son would not need, to get some cash reserves for various things. My will is already done and clearly outlines the division of assets.
But my mind goes to how best to get that started, with the sale of the house, management of the 401(k), setting up a sizeable deposit into a guaranteed education trust for my grandson, etc.
I stopped and wondered for a bit, why was this my reaction? Why was I not feeling sorrow for myself and the fact that I might be facing some difficult health issues and the side effects in the coming months? I've seen so many people sink into depression or despair over what was happening to them. But for me, I didn't care about that part. I truly had no care at all about my outcome. Never entered my mind. It was all about my immediate family and how do I help them.
I am still wondering how that can be. Why did I behave in that manner?
At any rate, I'm happy to say that the symptoms were a result of the GLP-1 medication that I was using. I stopped it for a bit and things settled down and went back to normal. I am still scheduling my video inspection just in case.
I guess the point I am making is that what you state, in your post, is pretty much spot on. There are those of us who act or react in certain ways when difficult situations present themselves to us. How we react can be based a lot on our upbringing or our experiences as we grow. I know the reaction to the house fire was partly driven by my military experience. But I am still at a loss for my complete focus on others when I thought I was facing a dire situation for myself.
We don't know how we will act, until the situation presents itself, but I hope that we will always have level-headed leaders in our lodges that can take the reigns and provide the leadership necessary to move in the right direction.
Once again, I have written a novel as a response, sorry for that.
Another Past Grand Master, MWB Mike Sanders, noted that when "bad" things happens to a lodge in most cases the lodge will recover to become even stronger. It might take time and a lot of effort but the lodge will become stronger. It reminds me of Fredrick Nietzsche concept of out of chaos comes order.