PARADISIO LOST

If you visit my lodge along with a surfeit of hospitality, I hope you would find engaging conversation. Too much about the Craft in Upper Canada is uneven. Evidence of confusion is prevalent. Unfortunately too many participants are not interested in advancing their sense of meaning and purpose. They find the suggestion off-putting. These are the growing pains happening in a lodge hovering around a 165year mark. The accomplishments of yesterday don't hold much value anymore but they were remarkable in developing the infrastructure of masonry across a pioneering landscape. In all fairness, these men were influenced by a crystal clear night skies, fresh rivers  and the calming stillness and smells of huge deep forests.  Packing a bible and a book of poems was as much luxury was necessity. If we passed La Scala or the Louve on our way home from work, we might have a taste for the sounds and sites. But ours is a beauty that is overwhelming and humbling. Natural and raw.  It was helpful to identify one another, gathering together and share readings. There was no one to accept delegation so before service clubs, masons helped less fortunates with no need for attention. This simple romantic sense of community still exists in memories along with a sense of loss about progress. Trees cut and farm fields overbuilt with houses and highways, aesthetics have given way to industry. The 21st woke with a growing proportion of well educated people, including men who brought UK and european sensibilities to our masonic lodges.  They have become energized, building on the foundations of early generations, celebrating and reinventing the practice of masonry.