Like I said in my last post, I joined a lodge of Freemasons. Immediately upon starting the process you start to learn things. A lot of different things. A lot of esoteric things. But a lot of the things make perfect sense once you have them explained to you and sit down and think about it for a few minutes. Which I am starting to believe is one of the main goals of masonry. Getting you to actually think deeply about things, as opposed to just doing the bare minimum of thought which is so common today. Really get into things and pick them apart with your intellect.
So one of the first things we learned about was the 24 inch gauge, which stone masons in antiquity used to measure their stones and make sure things lined up properly. But since obviously I am not becoming an actual mason, I won't be making or laying bricks anytime soon if I have anything to say about it. The gauge is used as a symbol.
I assume that there's a few interpretations of the symbol out there in the ether, but I particularly enjoyed the one that I was given, not only by my lodge mentor but also by the Brother who initially introduced me to and got me interested in masonry.
The idea of dividing your time. The 24 inch gauge is divided into three sections of eight inches. Which in masonry represent the three distinct phases of your day and how they should be spent.
While on its face its a good way to divide your day, what I don't think is stressed enough is the idea that the three sections of the day are divided very clearly. There is a definite separation of your time.
- Service to God and worthy distressed brethren.
- Usual vocation.
- Refreshment and sleep.
This might go without saying for some, but in today's day and age I think this is a concept that needs to be impressed upon new mason's. Not to let one or two things dominate your time. I've only been in the fraternity a couple of months but have met some Brothers who take masonry very seriously, are members of several appendant bodies and have large dues commitments as well as time commitments. I could be 100% wrong, but it seems like masonry has come to dominate their lives. Which might be perfectly reasonable for them. Maybe they have no family, maybe they are retired. I am not judging what I am saying is that from my point of view it might be over the top and for me such commitments would be untenable.
Further, the clear delineation between the times in your day should teach you to put work in its proper place and not let it infect your time with your family or your time pursuing the worthy goals of masonry or your sleep, and most importantly it should not interfere with your pursuit of knowledge of the Grand Architect.
My conclusion being that at least in the limited education I've received, Masons should be encouraged to make hard lines between the phases of their day and do what they can to ensure one part does not encroach onto another.
