The Precipice of Change - Yet Again

Here we are, or maybe here I am, on the precipice of change yet again. The home stretch is in front of me. I can see the finish line. This year is winding down and I am finishing up some remaining obligations even as I am already planning some personal projects and studies.

I am looking forward to the new reality that I am going to try com create for my self - including the creation of an entirely new 24-inch gage. I made it to The East the first time in 2015 and then my masonic journey took an unexpected path. I went directly to District Deputy Grand Master in 2017, District Education Officer in 2018, back to The West in 2020, District Education Officer again in 2021, and then back to The East again, also in 2021. The last seven years have been extremely busy indeed, but personally they have been very educational as well - you never know how much you don't know until you suddenly know you know more than you knew, or at least than you thought you knew... you know?

So I am preparing to leave The East again and I have to admit I am enjoying a feeling something like Christmas Eve to a six-year-old as I ponder the time I will be able to claim for myself once my successor takes the gavel. I take the experience and lessons with me as I return to my studies and my writing. In the last 24 hours, a topic (a question really) has cropped up that I think will immediately become my number one project. It deals with a different way to consider our membership challenges and the impact on our West Gate. As I see the project shaping up, it will be my highest priority as I outline it and do some data research and analysis to see what's actually there and determine if there might be implications for our craft.

Once I address that project, I can finally pick up my "project formally known as a Short Story" and work on that so, as far as writing and research projects, those are my top two priorities. I've been invited to speak at some some local lodges later this year (I will post those events on my "Event" page here on the website once I lock in the subject matter) and perhaps my new research project dealing with our membership challenges will be at a state where I can present that paper as a program - at least that's my hope.

Right now however, I'm finishing up a few final remarks to deliver to my lodge at the closing of our next Stated Meeting and, as I have sorted through my thoughts for that brief address, I have necessarily reviewed this pass through The East. I found that, with the help of my officers and the brothers of my lodge, I was able to accomplish quite a bit this year and for the most part, we achieved all of my objectives. We excelled and really blew the doors off some of the chores and tasks, and we are still plugging away at some others; a fairly well-balanced outcome from the year I think!

While no year is perfect, I would have to say this one got pretty close. I will ponder a few things after I leave The East to see what lessons there are for me to learn or other important take-aways there may be to study; this self-critique is the necessary step if one is to lay claim to the sublime title of "Grumpy Past Master". It is through this reflective look back that we truly and fully qualify ourselves to use the phrase "...back in my year..."

So I am looking forward to July and to turning my attention back to my keyboard and stack of unread books to see if I can crack the mystery of this thing we call masonry!

Travel on my brothers!

S&F

BroBill