One of the most rewarding experiences of my life was being chosen to be the Leader of so many different Masonic Organizations. Difficult in the sense that so many of the men I am tasked to lead have been to the most lofty positions Masonry has to offer which makes it hard for me to know what to say to them.
I have been told that no matter how high up the Masonic ranks a man has been there is always more to learn and I have to work from that premise or else I would implode. Not having the means to go any higher up the ranks into the Grand Line of any of the organizations of which I belong, I will endeavor to grow where I am planted.
Having been the head of five organizations since Dec 2013 and presently Secretary of three, Commander of one and President of another, Sponge mode is in full effect.
Starting in 2017, I have been asked to take on five Secretarial positions. If I do this, it is sure to be one of the most challenging endeavors I have ever undertaken. I will be relying on the generosity of a Mentor (to be named later).
Apparently, the real secret word in Masonry is, NO, which I have not learned yet.
The way I look at it is unless a task is completely out of my realm of abilities why not take it on for the experience and knowledge. When I took my first Secretarial position with Al Azar Grotto I did so because no one else wanted the position. It turns out that I am pretty good at it so I will probably be there until I am ready to give it up. The same goes for Baker Lodge #441, and Istrouma York Rite Bodies (three different positions)for a total of five. T
To be continued...
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Monday, July 13, 2015
Just a few posts from one of my Facebook groups
February 9
Peace and Harmony are essential characteristics of any successful organization, most especially Freemasonry, for without these nothing good is possible. A harmonious lodge or home begins within each associated person. Arrogance and an inflated ego can not occupy the same space as Peace and Harmony because of their incompatible natures therefore it becomes necessary that one group of characteristics and emotions must die, in order, for the others to flourish.
July 11 at 1:45pm
God be in my head
God be in my head,
and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes,
and in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
and in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
and in my thinking;
God be at my end,
and at my departing.
Amen. (?)
I have been attending so many funerals of late that death is at the forefront of my thinking these days. Not so much my own death because I know that day is coming again sooner or later and I am not afraid. It is the death of others which sets my mind to wonder what they were thinking. Did they realize that their passing was immanent or was it just another breath they took which turned out to be their last? I will tell you this much, When I passed away in 2002, And was fortunate enough to be brought back, I never had a clue that I was really dying. I knew that the pain in my chest was different, my breath was labored, my left arm was tingling and I was sweating, like a box of donuts in a room full of cops, but I really had no idea that all those signs were pointing to my eventual demise.
I believe that God in his infinite wisdom makes it so that for the vast majority of us Death is something which slips in like a Thief and is gone before we have the chance to realize that he was even present. Knowing this we should take time each day to show our loved ones and friends how much we care so that when the Thief which is Death slips in unaware we will have hidden our jewels (love and kindness) away in the hearts and minds of others so that they will cherish them when we are gone.
1 Thessalonians 4:9
But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write to you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
July 4 at 1:12pm
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Peace and Harmony are essential characteristics of any successful organization, most especially Freemasonry, for without these nothing good is possible. A harmonious lodge or home begins within each associated person. Arrogance and an inflated ego can not occupy the same space as Peace and Harmony because of their incompatible natures therefore it becomes necessary that one group of characteristics and emotions must die, in order, for the others to flourish.
July 11 at 1:45pm
God be in my head
God be in my head,
and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes,
and in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
and in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
and in my thinking;
God be at my end,
and at my departing.
Amen. (?)
I have been attending so many funerals of late that death is at the forefront of my thinking these days. Not so much my own death because I know that day is coming again sooner or later and I am not afraid. It is the death of others which sets my mind to wonder what they were thinking. Did they realize that their passing was immanent or was it just another breath they took which turned out to be their last? I will tell you this much, When I passed away in 2002, And was fortunate enough to be brought back, I never had a clue that I was really dying. I knew that the pain in my chest was different, my breath was labored, my left arm was tingling and I was sweating, like a box of donuts in a room full of cops, but I really had no idea that all those signs were pointing to my eventual demise.
I believe that God in his infinite wisdom makes it so that for the vast majority of us Death is something which slips in like a Thief and is gone before we have the chance to realize that he was even present. Knowing this we should take time each day to show our loved ones and friends how much we care so that when the Thief which is Death slips in unaware we will have hidden our jewels (love and kindness) away in the hearts and minds of others so that they will cherish them when we are gone.
1 Thessalonians 4:9
But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write to you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
July 4 at 1:12pm
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
All some folks desire is a quiet exit from this world because they have given up and that is not acceptable. RAGE against death because once you cross over who knows how long it will be before you see your loved ones again.
June 9 There were times before joining Masonry I believed myself to be the smartest man in the room (self deceit). Since becoming a MM, I have been humbled by the intellect of so many of my Brothers that I no longer think I embody anything other than a high degree of Common Sense and am proud to be associated with Men of superior intelligence.
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
All some folks desire is a quiet exit from this world because they have given up and that is not acceptable. RAGE against death because once you cross over who knows how long it will be before you see your loved ones again.
June 9 There were times before joining Masonry I believed myself to be the smartest man in the room (self deceit). Since becoming a MM, I have been humbled by the intellect of so many of my Brothers that I no longer think I embody anything other than a high degree of Common Sense and am proud to be associated with Men of superior intelligence.
As a man with a
higher than normal degree of Common Sense, I refuse to start naming my
more intelligent Brethren, lest through accidental omission, I offend a
Man who may through the use of some Jedi mind trick redirect what little
intelligence there may be left in my nearly vacant cranial cavity
rendering me a total moron. Oh wait, Too Late!!!
June 9
June 9
Properly
prepped and maintained grounds yield bumper crops year after year while
plots full of boulders may produce a decent plant every once in a
while. Until we remove the boulders (obstacles) which are not conducive
to a learning environment we will always have certain plots where seeds
go to die or in the very least remain in a withered state from lack of
water (proper education).
It never fails to amuse while at the same time cause me trepidation when I sit down with my Brothers for a meal and the conversation is dominated by conspiracy theory's. I don't mind listening to discussions on Music, Hunting, Fishing, Nascar, hell even Hip Hop History but I draw the line when it comes to topics whose sole purpose is to turn the masses against one another or foment (look it up) an environment of fear and distrust.
BTW... The Conspiracy theory conversations are rare but when they happen I cringe because I understand they are about CONTROLLING people by turning them against one another.
May 15
Some of our Brethren have lots of knowledge to share yet so few of us are willing to lend them our ears because we are in such a rush to get back home for one reason or the other. Why is this and how long can we expect those knowledgeable Brethren to show patience with us to the point where they still desire to share their knowledge?
I get so tired of sitting in meetings watching men squirm while a Brother is trying his best to educate them.
I have one question; Why in the hell are you a member of a fraternity whose sole purpose is to make men better when you can not show enough courtesy and restraint to sit still and listen for more than 15 minutes at a time without making a show of wanting to leave. If you want to leave, Get-up, give the sign and be dismissed and let the ones of us who desire to learn something do so in peace.
It never fails to amuse while at the same time cause me trepidation when I sit down with my Brothers for a meal and the conversation is dominated by conspiracy theory's. I don't mind listening to discussions on Music, Hunting, Fishing, Nascar, hell even Hip Hop History but I draw the line when it comes to topics whose sole purpose is to turn the masses against one another or foment (look it up) an environment of fear and distrust.
BTW... The Conspiracy theory conversations are rare but when they happen I cringe because I understand they are about CONTROLLING people by turning them against one another.
May 15
Some of our Brethren have lots of knowledge to share yet so few of us are willing to lend them our ears because we are in such a rush to get back home for one reason or the other. Why is this and how long can we expect those knowledgeable Brethren to show patience with us to the point where they still desire to share their knowledge?
I get so tired of sitting in meetings watching men squirm while a Brother is trying his best to educate them.
I have one question; Why in the hell are you a member of a fraternity whose sole purpose is to make men better when you can not show enough courtesy and restraint to sit still and listen for more than 15 minutes at a time without making a show of wanting to leave. If you want to leave, Get-up, give the sign and be dismissed and let the ones of us who desire to learn something do so in peace.
May the G.A.O.T.U. continue to bless us all.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Peace and Harmony
Peace and Harmony are essential characteristics of any successful
organization, most especially Freemasonry, for without these nothing
good is possible. A harmonious lodge or home begins within each
associated person. Arrogance and an inflated ego can not occupy the same
space as Peace and Harmony because of their incompatible natures
therefore it becomes necessary that one group of characteristics and
emotions must die in order for the others to flourish.
Self Deceit
There
were times before joining Masonry I believed myself to be the smartest
man in the room (self deceit). Since becoming a MM, I have been humbled
by the intellect of so many of my Brothers that I no longer think I
embody anything other than a high degree of Common Sense and am proud to
be associated with Men of superior intelligence.
As a man with a higher than normal degree of Common Sense, I refuse to start naming my more intelligent Brethren, lest through accidental omission, I offend a Man who may through the use of some Jedi mind trick redirect what little intelligence there may be left in my nearly vacant cranial cavity rendering me a total moron. Oh wait, Too Late!!!
As a man with a higher than normal degree of Common Sense, I refuse to start naming my more intelligent Brethren, lest through accidental omission, I offend a Man who may through the use of some Jedi mind trick redirect what little intelligence there may be left in my nearly vacant cranial cavity rendering me a total moron. Oh wait, Too Late!!!
Properly prepped and maintained grounds yield bumper crops year after
year while plots full of boulders may produce a decent plant every once
in a while. Until we remove the boulders (obstacles) which are not
conducive to a learning environment we will always have certain plots
where seeds go to die or in the very least remain in a withered state
from lack of water (proper education).
It never fails to amuse while at the same time cause me trepidation when I sit down with my Brothers for a meal and the conversation is dominated by conspiracy theory's. I don't mind listening to discussions on Music, Hunting, Fishing, Nascar, hell even Hip Hop History but I draw the line when it comes to topics whose sole purpose is to turn the masses against one another or foment (look it up) an environment of fear and distrust.
It never fails to amuse while at the same time cause me trepidation when I sit down with my Brothers for a meal and the conversation is dominated by conspiracy theory's. I don't mind listening to discussions on Music, Hunting, Fishing, Nascar, hell even Hip Hop History but I draw the line when it comes to topics whose sole purpose is to turn the masses against one another or foment (look it up) an environment of fear and distrust.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Masonic Resources
This page is as much for me as it is for anyone else.
Masonic
http://www.okcyorkrite.org/home/mackey
York Rite
http://www.okyorkrite.org/degrees-capitular.htm
Scottish Rite
OES
Masonic
http://www.okcyorkrite.org/home/mackey
York Rite
http://www.okyorkrite.org/degrees-capitular.htm
Scottish Rite
OES
Find a reason to stay!
I just wrote an entire article on why men should attend lodge then
deleted it because men who are still interested in Masonry after the
newness has worn off have found ways to remain active while the others
have just wandered away like lost sheep back into the darkness from
whence they came. Pitiful...
I am so happy to have found reasons to stay around long enough for attending lodge to become habitual and not just something I do when there is nothing else to do.
David E. Carroll, Jr. WM, HP, IM, KT 2014
I am so happy to have found reasons to stay around long enough for attending lodge to become habitual and not just something I do when there is nothing else to do.
David E. Carroll, Jr. WM, HP, IM, KT 2014
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