The Working Tools Magazine âLightâ Version - Hawthorne-Fortitude ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

“The Twenty-Four Inch Gauge, a Measure of a Lifetime” By Bro. David Browning I am currently the Senior Deacon in the Lodge as well as the 16th District Deputy Grand Lecturer. At the beginning of the year I fully felt that I was giving Masonry everything that was expected of me and more. After I changed jobs my responsibilities at work became very demanding and I really had to slack off from visitation, service to the district, and on several occasions have even had to miss our Stated Communications due to travel required for my new position. In addition, life events such as my daughter getting married, the loss of a dear loved one, and other family matters also put a strain on my ability to give back to the Fraternity. I dare ask the question, does this lack of balance makes me less of a Mason? I will attempt to answer this question in the paragraphs below. In the First Degree we are taught that “The working tools of an Entered Apprentice are the twenty-four inch gauge and the common gavel.” When they are presented to us we ponder their use and most likely think little else about it for quite some time. Upon joining the Fraternity I was really blessed to have a very good work-life balance that allowed me to devote a lot of time to the Lodge and District events and never had any doubts that I was to some extent within the bounds of equilibrium that the twenty-four-inch gauge is meant to teach us; however, that situation changed and I have really been torn about my lack of ability to serve the Fraternity these last several months. As I often think about various topics and write about them this one is particularly personal to me and I would like to share my thoughts about the lesson I believe we are being taught when really reflecting upon the twenty-four inch gauge of the Entered Apprentice Degree. We are taught that “The twenty-four inch gauge is an instrument made use of by Operative Masons to measure and lay out their work, but we as Free and Accepted Masons are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purposes of dividing our time. It being divided into twenty-four equal parts are emblematic of the twenty-four hours of the day which we are taught to divide into three equal parts, whereby are found eight hours to the service of God and a distressed worthy brother, eight for our usual avocations, and eight for refreshment and sleep.” I think that we would all be challenged to find very many who have this good of a balance at any particular point in life but I think that this is truly the lesson. The twenty-four inch gauge is the measure of our balance throughout a lifetime, not at any given point in time. When I first was Entered, Passed, and Raised I had a routine job that allowed me a lot of flexibility. At that time I was able to spend a lot of time learning the catechisms as well as the lectures of the three symbolic degrees. I did a lot of visitation, helped with work in the Lodge, and never missed a meeting unless there were extenuating circumstances. At this time I also would say that I was more than ready to help out a worthy Brother, spend time studying the Great Light of Masonry, and overall had what I would consider to be a good balance. At this time I never doubted my veracity to the Fraternity but fast forward to March of this year when I landed my new job and everything got turned upside down. So back to the original question, does this lack of balance make me less of a Mason? I believe the answer is no, as the balance will be maintained throughout a lifetime. I believe that at any given point in time we will spend disproportionate amounts of time in one of the areas we are taught to focus on while neglecting the others but over the course of our lifetime that this will equal out to a large degree and thankfully we have the Blessings of Deity to overcome our discrepancies and shortcomings. T W T 18 www.twtmag.com
The Coaches Coach: “Our Masonic Youth” By Bro. John Nagy Are we expecting too much from our youthful Brothers? – Dr. John S. Nagy Research reflects what our nation’s forefathers knew long ago: You cannot expect wisdom to be a principle component of youthful character. They believed this so strongly that they incorporated this ideal into our nation’s laws. Ever since that incorporation, citizens must reach specific age 1 points before they are considered eligible to hold important governing positions. Examining these limits in the Light of some of Freemasonry’s Jurisdictions lowering their age requirements, one cannot help but ask, “What did our forefathers know about maturity?” There should be no doubt in any Masterful Mason’s mind that Masonic Work transforms good men toward the better. It does this by engaging their hearts and minds in activities designed to Work areas of their brains that promote improved and mature thinking. These areas are specific and Masons who engage in helping others develop should take note of these areas early on to determine this Work’s effectiveness. One standard of effectiveness measurement is the telltale characteristics of maturity. Masonic Coaches and Mentors should well acquaint themselves with methods that can both develop and ascertain maturity in those they are asked to assist in Masonic Work. It might occur to the many Brothers who Perpend the current state of the Craft that their failure to acquaint themselves with such Light weakens the Fraternity and causes our Brothers to focus attention on Superfluous matters and activities. Reviewing the division line between Youth and Manhood might be a good starting point for those interested in being a force for nurturing change within the Craft. Youth It might surprise some people to know that adulthood does not begin between ages 18 and 21. Yes, this age range is considered the “legal” age of consent and the time when those who reach it can and do take on many “adult” activities and responsibilities. It is also around the time when a person is judged and held accountable as an adult. This age range is also long past when participation in biological reproduction can and sometimes does occur for some of us. Benchmarks set up by modern society as predetermined transition points between Youth and Adulthood are not however when biological adulthood begins. Biological adulthood in humans occurs several years later, and in some cases much later, if at all. 2 Human Biological Adulthood is dependent upon the “coming to fruition” of a specific portion of the brain called, “the PreFrontal Cortex”. Pre-Manhood According to researchers, the Pre- Frontal Cortex (PFC) is the portion of the human brain responsible for differentiating Youth and Adulthood. The PFC is proportionally larger in humans than all other animals. It has also grown proportionally bigger in relation to other portions of the human brain over the time humans have purported to have existed on earth. In humans, the PFC continues to grow into the mid twenties. This growth though is in size only and other important PFC interconnections continue to change and grow long after this point. This is well indicated by further important character development taking place long after the time that the PFC reaches its full size. Coaches and Mentors should know that Character is a very good indicator of overall and specific maturity. A lack of maturity indicates further PFC development is necessary. The (Continued on page 20) 19 www.twtmag.com
Page 1 and 2: October 2012 Issue #56 $7.95 The Wo
Page 3 and 4: Now Available Two options of The Wo
Page 5 and 6: General Ask The Reader 8 Word of th
Page 7 and 8: Masonic Symbolism & Words Brought t
Page 9 and 10: (Continued from page 8) the origina
Page 11 and 12: “Freemasonry: A Better Way Of Bei
Page 13 and 14: “Humility as a Masonic Virtue”
Page 15 and 16: “The Symbologist” By Michelle S
Page 17: Be seen by Freemasons all around th
Page 21 and 22: Th e Bu ild in g Be t tSERIES e r B
Page 23 and 24: (Continued from page 22) used to de

The Working Tools Magazine âLightâ Version - Hawthorne-Fortitude ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?

The Working Tools Magazine âLightâ Version - Hawthorne-Fortitude ...