ONE DREAM ENDS- ANOTHER BEGINS

What has been happening to us is a combination; changing events, changing attitudes. Truth to power. Our effort has been uneven but sincere. Some join us for the novelty. Some want to join the search for meaning in a world of insincerity where interactions is too often, driven by a profit motive. The powerful get bigger. The needs of the common man were made irrelevant.  The one with the most unique experiences wins; a replacement for impactful experiences with meaning. Expectations of a fraternal order shifted, in part, driven by a better understanding of the returning soldier unable to leave the battlefield terror, fears made tolerable by the way we find validation in obligations and ritual cleansings. What was a Grand Lodge to do?  For some, being popular became as important as being respected.  Rapid growth was bound to stop, and it has. Expectations that soared during the disorienting days of early 20th Century changed just as quickly.  Consumerism, wealth, technology, religion, culture, and politics left many people feeling empty. Where to find a good life? Elites are no longer trusted. The estates were no longer reliable. And mass migrations of humanity began in search of security and opportunity.  How do we trust the stranger?  We became as Robert Heinlen knew, Strangers in a Strange Land.   But some of us were fortunate to find a bond within the opportunity of Freemasonry, to examine the secrets of our hearts knowing that we have barely scratched the surface and already finding how alike we are.