AUTHENTICITY

No amount of effort protects masonry more than carrying on with a sense of imagination. Our stories a rich with imaginative material, as if there was ever a romantic period of masonry that never figuratively existed.  The history of masonry is less atmospheric and elemental than it is the story of the business of private conversations. Reporting like that is helpful but it robs us of nuance. Today, the pace of change appears to have quickened. Our beautiful libraries have succumed to virtual space.  Instead of books that when read generate deeper questions, the virtual library becomes active with the question asked.  Inspiration seems to have been turned on its head. Brotherhood is not longer about familiarity. For reasons that we will explore later, the brotherhood has become faceted. What draws people into this life is now the similarity of taste. Taste in music. Taste in literature. Taste in history and philosophy. The transformation of good to better is channeled through groups with members that interact for the purpose of sharing knowledge in hopes of gaining greater awareness. It is very much experential but one that is as hard to replicate as the mood brought to mind by the music of  Erik Sate or Frederic Chopin. After we have trained and been humbled by the vast amount of available material our audience is one person. The next one to be influenced by this one. These capable minds have become a unique history. For people who think of these contributions as transferrable, the struggle goes on to stumble into creativity my themselves.  They find the wonder of authenticity and the isolation that follows. When it works, it is exquisite. When it doesn't it is just another night. Attempting the challenge? That's for those who have the confidence.