REFLECTIONS

You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing of years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married, and embarking on my new life with my mate.

And yet, in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all…

I have glimpses of how it was back then, and of all my hopes and dreams….

But here it is…the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise…

How did I get here so fast?
Where did all the years go?
And, where did my youth go?

I remember well…
Seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were far away from me,
And that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.
But here it is.

Wife retired and she is really getting gray….
She moves slower, and I see an older woman now.
She is in better shape than I am, but I see the great change.
Not the one I married who was young and vibrant…
And like me, her age is beginning to show, and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we would be.

Each day now, I find that just taking a shower is a real target for the day!
And taking a nap is not a treat any more…it’s mandatory!

Cause if I don’t of my own free will….
I just fall asleep where I sit.

And so, now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pain,
And the loss of strength and ability to go and do things.

I know that though the winter has come, and I’m not sure how long it will last.
And, when it’s over…it’s over!
Yes, I have regrets.

There are things I wish I hadn’t done…
Things I should have done.
But, indeed, there are many things I’m happy to have done.

It’s all in a lifetime.
So, if you’re not in your winter yet…
Let me remind you…
It will be here faster than you think!

So,
Whatever you would like to accomplish in your life
Please do it soon.
Do not defer nor neglect it,
For life goes by so quickly.
Do what you can today, because you can never be sure
Whether this is your winter, or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life….
So, live for good today, and
Say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember….

“Life is a gift to you.
The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after.
Make it a fantastic one.”

LIVE IT WELL!


Just a look back, reflecting on times past. Imparting the wisdom that comes with age.
Hiram Abiff, “The Widow’s Son”

"No man has ever knelt at our altar of Obligation an arose the same man."
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REDEDICATION

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I believe this is the time for us to reflect once again, on the beneficial influence of Freemasonry on our lives, and rededicate ourselves anew, for practicing and the spreading of Masonic principles. It is also an occasion for us to concentrate on some of the problems facing us today. One of these is adherence to the ethics, and code of conduct.

What has happened to the ethics revered and generally followed in the past? Code sections and various regulations are being misinterpreted or ignored in attempts to increase membership. Lack of respect for the views of others and like matters, is disturbing the harmony in Lodges, and is becoming more frequent.

Not too long ago, conduct was self-imposed. It sprang from core beliefs. Agreements used to be made solely, by the shaking of hands, and a Freemason’s word was his bond. Trust and adherence to truth was the standard of conduct for most Freemasons. This sense of honor is largely unobserved and probably not comprehended by much of our fraternity nowadays. Freemasons, however, are supposed to be ethical before they become Masons and, as such, are taught to think, and act, ethically.

Honor, along with duty, form the bedrock of human character. Today, many who see an injustice or are dissatisfied with a status do nothing. Others betray the right. Toleration of misconduct makes the person who tolerates equally guilty of malfeasance. Ethics, rules, unlike most laws, are observed only by ethical people, who do not need them. Honor codes are meaningless to individuals without a sense of honor.

Freemasons, who breach the Constitution, Laws and Edicts of the Grand Lodge, or the By-Laws of their own Lodges, not only violate their obligations, but are individuals without a sense of honor. Those who have knowledge of those breaches, and do nothing, are likewise guilty of wrongful conduct. An observation of such inherently immoral action is set forth in the Volume of Sacred Law, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Freemasonry sets a higher standard to always do right. Its ritual includes references to purity of life and conduct; being good and true; practicing the domestic and public virtues; squaring our actions by the Square of virtue; and displaying discretion, virtue, and dignity. But even the most explicit laws or lists of do’s and don’ts, or standards of conduct, are futile, if those they apply to, lack the basic character to abide by them.

Since Freemasons are urged to live by Masonic principles and thus, by precept and example, encourage others to emulate their actions, they must abide by their obligations and not palliate the offenses of their Brethren. They must realize that the teachings of the Craft are designed to improve society, as well as each member, just as Aristotle knew that, though it is worthwhile to obtain the end merely for one man, it is fine and more Godlike, to attain it for a nation.

We must recognize, that if anyone loses interest in Freemasonry after he becomes a Mason, the fault does not necessarily lie with him, but with the other Brethren who are associated with him in his Lodge and outside, for not helping him to sustain the interest. I for one do not believe that Freemasonry has let anyone down. If anything, it is we, who often let Freemasonry down, by not following its principles.

I urge the Brethren to take the tenets of Freemasonry seriously and adopt them as a way of life. Let us remember the charge given to the Worshipful Master after his installation, where he is asked to ensure that the Brethren, “practice outside the Lodge those duties they are taught in it, and also to forcibly impress on them the serious importance, and dignity of Freemasonry, and seriously admonish them never to disgrace it.”
The charge further adds, “…that this is necessary, so that the world may know that a Freemason, is one to whom the burdened heart may pour its sorrow; to whom the distressed may depend on; whose hand is guided by justice, and whose heart is expanded by benevolence.”

I am sure, if all Masons act upon this message, it will provide an abiding influence in our lives, and in the lives of those around us.

Sticking to the principles that takes a good man & makes him better.
Hiram Abiff
The Widow’s Son

"No man has ever knelt at our altar of Obligation an arose the same man."
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WHERE THE FAST LANE ENDS. . . . . .

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Members come to Masonry for many reasons. Because of a relative, because of a friend, because of fellowship, because of curiosity, or maybe because they think they will get ahead. The reason we join is irrelevant. After joining, we found men who treated us with brotherly love. This, in turn, relieved the stress of the day. It also gave us a feeling of self worth and helped us see the true meaning of Freemasonry.

The fast movement of everyday life causes many changes in our life style. We move from one situation to another at such a speed, that most of the time, we seldom see the conclusion of one problem before another appears. Except if, it doesn’t turn out right, then we hear every detail of what went wrong. That is where Masonry comes in.

We come to Lodge to meet old and new friends that demand nothing from us. Thus, we demand nothing from our Brethren. We teach, and we learn a more even way to live, and to cope with problems. We learn that, all that matters is within ourselves. We learn, through watching others, that a better way to do anything is through love, understanding, and trust.

As we speed on and through this ever - changing world, we come to lodge for a little bit of peace and understanding, we come to slowdown, we come because this is;

WHERE THE FAST LANE ENDS.


Hiram Abiff
The Widow’s Son

"No man has ever knelt at our altar of Obligation an arose the same man."
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THE CARNATION

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Although the fruit of the buckeye tree has symbolized Ohio since the middle 1800’s, it wasn’t until 1904 that the scarlet carnation was chosen as our official state flower. This flower was a favorite of William McKinley and was adopted by the state legislature partly because it represented a token of love and reverence for the Ohio president.

When legislator Elijah W. Hill introduced the adoption resolution on the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives he said in part:

“England has the rose, France has the lily; Ireland has the shamrock; Scotland, the thistle. These flowers awaken in the hearts of the natives of these countries memories of home, fireside, childhood days, sweet sorrows, family ties, and incidents of the land of their nativity. To these ends we seek to adopt the scarlet carnation as Ohio’s floral emblem.”

The turn of the century dandies would not leave the house without a red or white carnation in the buttonhole of their suit. With the end of this tradition, and the fact that carnations are so easily cultivated and grown, the flower has lost some of its popularity.

Carnations send a message:
A red carnation bouquet means, “My heart aches for you,” and a white bouquet of carnations means the sender is saying; “I am still available.” The meaning of the flower is: Fascination and devoted love.”

How appropriate.

Hiram Abiff
The Widow’s Son

"No man has ever knelt at our altar of Obligation an arose the same man."
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ONE NATION UNDER GOD

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG,
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.


Many people are coming out and speaking about the separation of Church and State and they want to banish God from our society. I, for one, cannot sit by and allow this to happen without doing what I can to speak out against this atrocity. As this is the case with most injustices that are done in the world, they are able to thrive because good people do not speak out against them. I will not go to my reward guilty of that charge, but will depart someday with the knowledge that I have tried to tell people the truth.

Most of the Americans who are my age or older were taught the Pledge of Allegiance in grade school, and we recited it every morning as we covered our heart with our right hand. The recitation was part of every day life and we all accepted it gladly. Of course, when we were kids it was just something that we did and it was a routine. There was no question about reciting it and to be honest, nobody ever really explained what we were saying. To me it was no different from saying the Boy Scout Creed or even swearing some secret oath when we had our little clubs as kids in our neighborhoods. However, as I got older, the pledge began to take on new meanings.

The Pledge that we learned in school, was taught so that we said it as it was written as I you have just read. It must be noted here, that there is no comma between the words, one Nation, and Under God. It is recited as one, continuous sentence.

Now there have been numerous questions in recent years, as to whether God, should be allowed in the Pledge. Those in the atheist camp say that by using God in the Pledge, children are forced to pledge to God, whom they see as the Jewish and Christian God. One particular individual, an attorney from California has been battling this in the courts for a few years. His contention is that he does not want his daughter indoctrinated in the ways of God. His ex-wife and daughter are both believers in Jesus, and the daughter has repeatedly said that she likes to recite the Pledge.

Therefore, we have one man who is fighting against the Pledge in the guise that he is doing it for his offspring, but he is really doing it for himself, and the deed is his and his alone. Obviously, this man has no shame if he feels that it is okay to hide behind the skirt of a little girl to enforce his opinion.

Now, since this whole thing has started, there has not been one religious person from any religion who has come out against the Pledge, at least not publicly. That is because when any person from any religion says the Pledge, they think of their own gods and they give credit to them. Therefore, when a Muslim says the Pledge, they think of Allah, a Buddhist thinks of the Buddhist God, the Hindu thinks of a certain God and so on and so forth. Therefore, it would seem that only the Atheist has a problem with the Pledge as it stands today.

The interesting point to reflect on is that God is not a God that pressures people to love Him. As long as a nation accepts Him and loves Him, He will stick around like a faithful friend. He will protect that people or nation and will cause them to prosper, but if a people or nation spurn Him, and demand that He leave, He will oblige them and grant them their wishes. Do not expect the blessings to remain when the author of blessings is, expelled.

A certain portion of the Pledge declares that the United States is one nation. That means that every one in the nation will be of one accord, with one purpose and dedicated to a common goal. For most of the history of this nation, that was the case. Of course, there were times where there was strife. We are humans living in a fallen world and we have to expect some problems from time to time. Through those bad times, the people were for the most part, moral, God-fearing people.

Many of us here had ancestors hail from many parts of Europe. There were Protestants, Catholics and yes, some agnostics. They were people, whom probably, had they stayed in Europe would have been at odds with each other. The Danes, being for the most part a Protestant nation, did not care for the Germans or Poles who were Catholic. Germans seem to think of Austrians as being somewhat inferior to them. Those in Northern Europe did not have any affection for the Italians, who were thought to be inferior because of the darkness of their skin.

What brought them all together so that I can stand here now and write and have you read this article? It was the cause of a common dream, to be American and to prosper under a new way of thinking of things, a new order of society; one built on the equality of everyone; and you know what? It worked well above my ancestor’s wildest imagination!

Another aspect of “one nation,” that must be explored is that we have to realize that the United States is a UNION. I am not speaking of a socialistic order of workers, like what is found in many cities in the United Sates, but a union of states. When the United States first started out it was comprised of thirteen individual mini nations, and these, were commonly referred to as the “Colonies.” Each Colony was sovereign and an entity unto itself. Most of the Colonies had their own currency and their own political way of doing business. When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, representatives of every Colony signed it. After we won our independence we had to draw up something to keep the Union cohesive, and it was a painful process. Before the Constitution existed, a document attempted to do this, called the Articles of Confederation.
It was a loosely knit collection of clauses for the new government. The trouble was that this document gave some states more rights than it did others, so the founding fathers sought a new document; one that would make everyone totally equal under the law. Because of that, we have the Constitution. Might I add, this too was signed by members of each state in the new nation.

One might argue that we have not always been one nation during our history. Well, that is true at times, especially during the Civil War, when the Union was fragmented.
When we study what the phrase “under God” means, we first must examine which God we are talking about. There are many gods around. Every culture has their deity that they pray to and trust in; some have many gods.
It might be of interest to note, that Congress did not officially recognize the Pledge of Allegiance until 1942, and the words, “under God,” were not inserted, until 1954. What was the state of our nation and who was our nation’s God in 1954?

During the 1950’s, our nation experienced a surge in economic growth; it was a period of great prosperity. This is the time when the term, “The American Dream,” came into reality. If you watch the 50’s show, “Leave It to Beaver,” you can get an idea of what society was like back in that time. You had the man that went out and made a good living. You had a wife who stayed home and attended to the children, the home, and her husband’s needs. You had two or more children and they were healthy and on the road to being well educated.

Most of the diseases that had plagued our ancestors had been either tamed or obliterated and the life span here in the States was growing rapidly. There was a lot to be thankful to God for. However, what does it mean to be under God? To some, it might conjure up thoughts of being under the oppressive thumb of a tyrannical deity, who just wants to oppress us and grind our old bones into dust once we die. Unfortunately, that is the thought that many have these days. Instead of seeing him as a loving father figure, they see him as a ruthless authoritarian with no feelings.

Indivisible; what does that mean? It means that if our nation is one nation, being one people made up from many others, and one land mass made up of several states; and we are under God; meaning that we submit to the will and authority of God; we will be indivisible, not to be divided. With liberty and justice for all; and I am amused by this last portion of the Pledge of Allegiance. I cannot think of a time when there has been liberty and justice for all. We have come close many times, but we never truly hit the mark. For too many years, there was little liberty and no justice for blacks in most of the country, especially in the south. Ask the congregants of three synagogues that were fire-bombed in Sacramento a decade ago, and see how they feel about liberty and justice.

I wrote this article because I am a patriotic American and a Mason. I was born free and I will die free. It hurts me a great deal to see what my beloved country has become. During the years of my lifetime I’ve seen the United States go from a God fearing, caring nation, to a self centered godless society. I think we have slid into a chasm from which we will not be able to extricate ourselves. Our society has in effect told God to “get lost.” Not a person to stay where He is not welcomed, He has obliged our request. He won’t come back unless we become humble and contrite in spirit.

This certainly can happen, but I believe that it will only happen after this nation has gone through a time of great distress.
I sincerely hope no one becomes offended by what I wrote in this article. I cannot apologize for how you feel.
Sometimes correction is a hard pill to swallow, but like most medications, it does not taste good, but it promotes healing if taken faithfully as prescribed.

We are, after all, “One Nation Under God”.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Hiram Abiff
The Widow’s Son

"No man has ever knelt at our altar of Obligation an arose the same man."
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