March 4th, 2005

Duplicity

Dear Unknown Friend,

It should be pretty well established that I am Mason-Man, I love Freemasonry. However, of late I am finding myself more and more torn by it; between seemingly opposing forces of the Living Freemasonry and the Institution of Freemasonry.

For those just tuning it, let me recap. The Institution of Freemasonry, or Speculative Masonry, is composed of the codes, the structures, the forms, the ornate ceremonies, the focus of execution, and adherence to rigid and codified forms of operation within modern Freemasonry. Living Freemasonry, or Operative Freemasonry, is more focused on the philosophical objects beyond the veils of allegories, and seeks to create new illustrations of symbols, while remaining true to the customs and usages established from time immemorial.

Despite my best efforts to find a way to span this growing schism, I can find none, and because I am an Officer, and I am viewed as a leader by some, I find myself more on the Institutional side, while desperately longing, to once again return to the fertile pastures of creativity on the other.

As a result my Masonry suffers while I attempt to establish opportunities for others to establish there Masonry.

It does not have to be this way. Somehow the GOoF has managed to maintain something of a balance, so have the English. Here in the United States we have come to favor complex hierarchies of authority and accepted even the most trivial of practices as inviolable.

J.