Gaining Perspective

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Randy Sanders

As I’m preparing to leave for the 2021 Missouri Grand Lodge Communication, I feel anxious, blessed, and reflective. I feel anxious as the COVID pandemic took so much from us and in reality, continues to do so. I feel blessed as I get to gather in the mystic ties of brotherhood with so many good Masons over the next few days. I feel reflective in that what came before me built the perspective from which I see today.

As we embark on today’s journey to the Grand Lodge Communication, I joyously followed Brother Matt Parker’s postings from North Carolina’s Grand Lodge Communication and Brother Mohamad Yatim’s and others’ postings of a new AMD Council in Chicago. The excitement expressed through these brothers’ reporting their activities becomes, dare I say contagious? I was ready to leave early for Grand Lodge hitting the road yesterday, even though I knew the big festivities begin today.

Brother Cameron Adamson flew into St. Louis yesterday, and as I picked him up from the airport, that feeling of excitement over gathering to meet continued to remind me of the many blessings we Masons enjoy through our work. Brother Cameron’s sheer joy at traveling to another jurisdiction to share in the fraternal aspects, meet and greet brothers from another country, discuss all things Masonic with new and old acquaintances? Again, contagious. Brothers Joshua Herbig and Parth Patel are making their morning preparations, and the plans include meeting up with them to speak to a new candidate and drop off a petition. A new petition? On the way to Grand Lodge? Absolutely electric.

As Brother Masons spread out all over the globe, we aren’t alone in doing charity, but we are blessed in being together to do charitable work. We aren’t the only organization founded in brotherhood, but we are blessed to have such a rich and solid tapestry of history to which we can proudly point. We focus on the daily work, the next project, the lodge repair, or the next piece of equipment we need to purchase, yet at the end of the day, we made a difference. We reflect upon our work yesterday and beyond, and we see the future by building our trestle board taking our past into account.

In the Robin Williams movie, Dead Poets Society, Williams’ character reminds us to: “Carpe Diem”, or "Seize The Day". He goes on to push his students to make their lives extraordinary. Another quote from the movie is "Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. Even though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try." Spoiler if you haven’t seen it: This is where he memorably stands on his desk, explaining it is all about gaining perspective. We as Masons are given different perspectives. We learn through the degrees to look at so many different things and ideas via these different perspectives. Every working tool, every symbol, lecture, and charge reinforces the means to gain a new perspective.

Are you seizing today? Are you gaining perspective? How are you going to use that new perspective to be a better Mason today?

~RS

Bro. Randy and his wife Elyana live near St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Randy earned a Bachelors's Degree in Chemistry with an emphasis in Biochemistry, and he works in Telecom IT management. He volunteers as a professional and personal mentor, NRA certified Chief Range Safety Officer and enjoys competitive tactical pistol, rifle, and shotgun. He has 30 plus years teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu, Chi Kung, and healing arts. Randy served as a Logistics Section Chief on two different United States federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams over a 12-year span. Randy's Masonic bio includes past Lodge Education Officer for two Symbolic Lodges, Founder of the Wentzville Lodge Book Club, member of the Grand Lodge of Missouri Education Committee, Sovereign Master of the E. F. Coonrod AMD Council No. 493, Co-Librarian of the Scottish Rite Valley of St. Louis, Clerk for the Academy of Reflection through the Valley of Guthrie, and a Facilitator for the Masonic Legacy Society. Randy is a founding administrator for Refracted Light, a full contributor to Midnight Freemasons, and an international presenter on esoteric topics. Randy hosts an ongoing weekly Masonic virtual Happy Hour on Friday evenings. Randy is an accomplished home chef, a certified barbecue judge, raises Great Pyrenees dogs, and enjoys travel and philosophy.

Life is short, Shoot the ball

by Midnight Freemason Regular Contributor

WB Christopher Hathaway 

Graphic by Catherine Lee Balsamello-Rutledge

“Death doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints

It takes and it takes and it takes” 

-Hamilton

The past twelve months have been a year to remember, or maybe a year we would all like to forget. COVID deaths are now at 2.46 million worldwide and we are still in masks and under tight restrictions. In a normal year, I would say not many people give thought to eventually dying but this year is different. This year it is all around us. This year we are actively taking extra precautions to live more than we would at any other time. If you are a Mason, you should be prepared and okay with eventually passing away from this earth and into the next. But are we? And even if we are, are we making the most out of our time here? Life is short and we need to make it count.

In our Masonic Rites given at the funeral of Freemasons we say ‘the cradle and the coffin stand side by side…that at the moment you begin to live, you also begin to die.’ I was discussing this line with a friend who pointed out that scientifically that was not exactly accurate, which is okay by me because much of our teachings are symbolic and not meant to be literal. After a little digging though, I found that we actually begin to die around the age of 25. Not that that is any better! We are fresh out of school beginning our careers, starting families, understanding how mortgages and 401k(s) work and you are rewarded with the process of dying. How lovely! But this lesson teaches us the urgency of living a fulfilling life pleasing to our creator, our families, and our communities. Whatever you have on your to-do list, do it NOW. What are you waiting for? My grandpa once told me if you wait until you have time to do something, you will never do it.

In a song called Death Bed by Powfu he says this:
“Yeah, I don't wanna fall asleep, I don't wanna pass away
I been thinking of our future 'cause I'll never see those days”

Can you imagine being on your deathbed knowing you did not give it everything you had? Are you forming relationships with people, so you have a legacy? Everything that I am today is due to someone else giving me their time and teachings. I hope to be their legacy even if it's just bits and pieces of me. Do the same for someone else. As 1 Corinthians says "Charity extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms of eternity."

So, love your people today, tomorrow, and the next day. Don’t wait until the funeral to give your speech about them. Say it now, write it now. I fall into this trap constantly. I get too busy to slow down and make that extra phone call or go out of my way for that extra visit. I have never regretted an extra effort and you won’t either.

As my middle school basketball coach liked to say “Life’s short, shoot the ball!”

~CJH

WB Christopher J. Hathaway was raised in Catlin Masonic Lodge #285 and is a plural member of Normal Masonic Lodge #673 as well as Bloomington Lodge #43, where he is a Past Master. He belongs to the Valley of Danville, AASR where he is the Most Wise Master of the George E. Burow Chapter of Rose Croix and Membership Chairman.  He is the Oriental Guide in the Divan for the Mohammed Shiners, and the 1st Vice President of the Bloomington Shrine Club. Other appendant bodies include the Gao Grotto and the Illinois Lodge of Research. Outside of the lodge, he enjoys spending time with his wife Taylor and cheering on the Fighting Illini and Chicago Cubs.