In today’s troubled times one thing I have noticed is how much I miss Freemasonry. It has always been my “safe space” and it is a part of Freemasonry that you do not often hear talked about, I suppose we take it for granted normally. You hear about Integrity, Friendship, Respect, Charity and Fun (of course) but how about security, sanctuary, comfort and reflection?
You don’t really get to understand this other aspect of Freemasonry until you’ve been in it for a while. We do not talk about Politics or Religion, it is strictly forbidden, and that in itself is a massive release from the everyday bombardment of such things by both traditional and social media. Imagine if you will, a very bad news day and then being able to go to a place and forget all about it. You meet familiar friends and quite often new ones and with a common bond of Friendship, Integrity, Respect and Charity you have something to talk about without having a hard time breaking the ice or fumbling over what to say to strike up a conversation.
The difference is like stepping into another world and you know that the very first person you meet will give you a big smile and hold out their hand in friendship and comradeship and you will be amongst friends, with a common purpose, common ideals and the outside world disappears for the time you are there. Imagine, the relief and melting away of a stressful day as we come together and you can catch up on your friend’s life and family, hear a few jokes, listen to what they have been up to when visiting other Freemason’s Lodges and just relax without any of the day-to-day baggage this modern life seems to burden us with.
By removing those often divisive subjects of Politics and Religion we all meet on a level basis and our common humanity and empathy come to the fore. Just writing this short article has brought calmness to my day as I recollect the good fellowship of our Lodge meetings. During these lock-down periods I miss the members a lot but we do have social media and online conferencing to fall back on and keep our eyes and ears open for each other. However, there is nothing quite like meeting up in person and enjoying everyone’s company and just losing yourself in the ambiance of a room full of like minded people.
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