by Midnight Freemason Contributor
Bro. Erik Marks
[Erik in the elevator]
Potential Brother [PB]: as doors are closing: knocks three times “hold please.”
Erik: Sure. [presses door hold button] what made you knock?
PB: Oh, it’s something my mom taught me, her father would always do that when he came into the room.
Erik: What floor?
PB: 33rd
Erik: Huh, just one above mine. Work here? [Presses 33]
PB: No, I have an interview, third and I hope last. [elevator stops between second and third floors…] Oh no, I hope we aren’t here long.
Erik: When is your meeting?
PB: Well, in 47 minutes. I like to plan ahead, so sometimes I’m way early. Hey, what’s that ring?
Erik: That’s my Masonic ring.
PB: Masonic? Like Freemasonry? I thought that was an extinct cult.
Erik: [chuckles] No, we are very much alive, with millions of members all over the world…and I’d say, we are the anti-cult.
PB: Pardon?
Erik: Cults trick people into joining and then use them for their twisted purposes; they use coercion and pressure to keep people from leaving. We do the opposite: we teach men to question things and think for themselves to better understand the world. Masonry is easy to leave, just don’t show up to meetings or don’t pay dues. We will still call to make sure you’re ok and if there is a reason why you aren’t coming back that we can help with; there are high expectations, but there will never be pressure and we respect you and your wishes if you don’t want us to call again.
PB: That’s not what I expected to hear. But I thought you were a “secret society” [makes hand-waving gestures and scary movie like inflections with the tone of voice]
Erik: No, we are a very public society of brothers and friends who strive to make ourselves and the world better.
PB: Taking over?
Erik: [laughs] No, another ridiculous myth. Just trying to fully occupy myself, that’s hard enough on some days. Sorry, I’m being rude, my name is Erik.
PB : Sol, short for Solomon, nice to meet you.
Erik: [raises left eyebrow] Nice to meet you as well.
Sol: What?
Erik: I know a famous Brother named Solomon. What’s the interview for?
Sol: Project manager for a construction company.
Erik: [both eyebrows raised] Say..more...
Sol: Long story.
Erik: We seem to have time.
Sol: Okay, sure. My great grandfather and grandfather were both contractors. They didn’t have degrees, but I got mine in engineering management. My dad was a cop but was killed on duty before I was born. I wanted to follow in his footsteps of community service through policing, but my family asked me go back to the family business instead.
Erik: So, you are a widow’s son?
Sol: I guess you could call me that, I haven’t heard that phrase before but it sounds right. When my dad was dying, he told the doc he wanted my mom to name me Hiram, after his favorite brother. Which was odd because he was an only child. My mom couldn’t do it so she named me after her favorite Grandfather. Mom and Dad are Baha’i, well dad was [emphasis for his passing]. This company was hired to build a new Bahai temple. My mom used to call me Ram as a kid, kind of a nod to my dad.
Erik: Let me make sure I’ve got this right: Your name is Solomon, but mom secretly refers to you as Hiram, but in code, and you are hoping to oversee the building of the temple?
Sol: Yes, is that weird?
Erik: No…but my readers are squirming in their seats right now.
Sol: Readers?
Erik: Never mind, it’s a bad habit. Don’t tell me, your dad’s name was David, right.
Sol: So, Freemasons are psychics?
Erik: No, only in fiction and tired conspiracy theories. But I think you’ve been written into a story larger than you realize, many of us are. You asked about secrets [elevator starts moving]. Your family may have a richer history than you are yet aware of. I encourage you to ask your mom and relatives more about the history of the men in your family. And how would you sum up the Bahai faith, if you’re practicing?
Sol: Oh yeah, it’s a huge part of my life: Unity of God, Religion, and Humanity. That God reveals itself through various messengers over the ages to help humanity transform. It’s very inclusive and holds equality, equity, as a high standard.
Erik: That’s incredible, thanks for enlightening me, I’ll look for more. Well, were at my floor, if you take nothing else from my little elevator pitch, please consider this: Though not so obvious a plot for most people…There are clues in your life as to who you are and what you may become. Some men are born into the world with delusions of grandeur; others arrive with delusions of a broken lineage, without an intact or healthy legacy from which to develop. We may feel we have lost something. To men of faith, the method and tools of Freemasonry give a structure to explore and find themselves fully, if they earnestly and sincerely use the tools provided. You have to ask to join, you’ll never be coerced, and it is work. Masonry helps men find their harmonious place within themselves, the community, and the world. It is a beautiful journey for men to discover the secrets they need to find.
Erik: Here is my card, give me a call if you would like to find more, over dinner, at the lodge. [Erik steps out of elevator] My Brothers would be interested in hearing about your life, and maybe you would benefit to hear theirs. They may help you find words to feelings and intuitions you’ve held all your life; even if you aren’t interested in joining.
Sol: [smiles as doors start closing] Thanks.
Erik: [Knocks three times on elevator and pushes doors apart] and whenever you’re given the third degree, Solomon…answer directly from your heart, from what you know to be true. Whatever happens on that day, you can feel assured you did the best you could.
Sol: [looking a little dazed]: Allah’u’ Abha [doors close]
~EM
Brother Erik Marks is a clinical social worker whose usual vocation has been in the field of human services in a wide range of settings since 1990. He was raised in 2017 by his biologically younger Brother and then Worshipful Master in Alpha Lodge in Framingham, MA. You may contact brother Marks by email: erik@StrongGrip.org
Though it may be fictitious that was amazing. Thank you Brother.
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