Time Banks

When you exist as long as freemasonry, you accumulate a history that is remarkable. Though thousands of men have been initiated, our antiquarians have distilled the greatest ideas, most prosaic advice, the interpretations of an engaging philosophy of life, about life, the workings of serious minds.

We find our libraries straining with papers including history that has been modified to support certain points. Myth and fable folded into fact and faith with an almost sacred preserve.  

The ideas of ancient times and our understanding of them are being constantly improved.  When archeologists find new papyrus or parchments our scriptures are rewritten revealing more about our past. Our appreciation of history now includes an awareness that revisionists had a heavy hand, energizing our scholars to verify information. Curiously, the history of freemasonry is undergoing upgrades changing the way we think .  

What does this reveal about the Order? It would appear our need to know is replacing dogma. In the 21st Century, the vibrancy of freemasonry has sharpened. 

We are now able to face cynics and critics who would say we are a shadow of what we once were, with an voice that reminds us, freemasonry has constantly been evolving.

So I put to you, a simple question:  why is the best masonry in the world found in those jurisdictions with the strongest Grand Lodge? Have England, Scotland, Sweden or Belgium found the lodestone or are they landmarks point the way to our future?

It is possible, we have the exact membership blend to make our future strong.  Are we up to the challenge that only contemplation will resolve?

I'm thinking we are. Do you?