Self-Improvement - It’s Not Symbolism

When I joined Masonry, I was fortunate to have some truly outstanding instructors to help me with my work. One, in particular, was WBro. Irl Fergerson. Now, I realize that most will not know his name, but it feels good to say it again and let him know in the Great Beyond how much he helped me. Bro. Irl would meet me in the old Masonic Temple Building in New Orleans to go over my work. We would go over a line, and then he would ask me what that meant. One day, I mentioned that none of my other instructors asked me the meaning of the work and asked him why he did it. He said that there was a difference between knowing something and understanding it. He said that a parrot will repeat whatever you tell it. But it understands none of it. Over the years, I've thought a lot about what he said.

I’ve spoken about the Masonic lessons with many Masons. I wonder how many of them know the lessons but don't understand them. I'd like, today, to look at the general nature of the lesson of self-improvement. Do we know what that means? I'd like to explore what is necessary before we can start on the path of self-improvement.

The often-repeated goal of Freemasonry is to make the good man better. We’ve all heard it a thousand times. We know it by heart. But how do we do it? Let’s put aside the common answers like learning the ritual or doing charity work. The simple fact is that the goal of Freemasonry is for the individual Mason to improve himself. It’s not to be letter-perfect in the ritual, attend all lodge meetings, and serve in all offices; it is to improve ourselves.

Self-improvement is not limited to Freemasonry. Everyone hears that self-improvement is central to a balanced life. From diet and exercise to peace of mind, we all hear that we should make positive changes. But how we do that is sometimes more self-deception than self-improvement.

If we want to lose weight, we might boldly state that we're now eating healthy. But keeping the fast-food burgers and fries with a diet drink (which we liked and drank before) is not switching to a healthy diet. We are kidding ourselves. If we claim that we are learning more about Masonry, but that translates into only attending more out-of-town (or out-of-state) Masonic gatherings, then we deceive ourselves that this enlightens us to the deeper lessons of our teachings.

There is an old saying that it is bad to lie to others but far worse to lie to yourself. To improve ourselves in Masonry means spending time contemplating Masonic teachings. We must find the near-hidden doors in our rituals and teachings that will bring us to a better understanding of how we can improve. A "see and be seen" social gathering where we learn more about lodge membership and who is next getting what offices, does not provide the enlightenment we need for inner growth. The first step to self-improvement is to be on the right path. We need to set our priorities and know what we want to do before trying (or claiming) to do it.

By understanding what it means to improve ourselves and then beginning a planned program, we will find that we are doing what we should have done from the beginning. It's not a problem to start late, but it is a problem not to start at all.

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