DRINKING THE KOOL AID: COMMITTING TO THE CRAFT

Capture the essence of Masonry by being the True Mason.  Can't understand it all?  No worries. Act like a good person. Smile. Be generous and lose the attitude. Select an aspect of our motto to guide you.  Audi Vide, Tace. I recommend you begin in silence just as if you were fortunate enough to be selected into Pythagoreanrian school. You cannot respect another human being until you respect yourself. The instructions for that are generosity, charity, lovingkindness. Oh, at the beginning yes you're incomplete. Yes, you're going through the motions.  How do you think true Masons reach the top step?  They began just like you. More questions. Few answers. Full of opinions with very little knowledge. Stumbling along the path. Questioning their own sincerity.  Stop talking about now. Be respectful. You are a student, learning.  No one except a man with an out of control ego, or a hatred for humanity, expects you to be anything else.  Respect the time to learn. You deserve it.  Don't know how to listen to yourself?  No worries. Ask the question. Why? Why am I trying to be a Mason?  Oh; thought you were? No, no, no, no. We gave you an opportunity to become a better, enhanced version.  Begin to communicate with your behaviour. How do you act generously without imposing yourself on someone, anyone?  How do you become known as authentic? sincere?  Good questions.  Can you think critically? Takes time. Four hundred+ years before you, men have been thinking about ethics and doing it without being big knobs.  So you walk into a place where mature men can talk. Notice the atmosphere? How about the good-natured, respectful laughter, intelligence?  What's been keeping you?  We've been waiting. 

Now let's work on making it the most exceptional experience and perhaps you will prove yourself worthy.