The Masonic Ledge - Are you a Member?

The Masonic Ledge[i] -- Are you a Member?

It’s unfortunate that it happens all too often, and if you’re someone fortunate to experience it for yourself, then you know exactly how it feels.   

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Hello my Brother.  Yes, it’s me and I know that you’re standing there.  You’re not as stealthy as you want everyone to believe.   Sure, I know the vast majority of your Brothers can’t see you there but I know you’re there.  You don’t have to believe me though.  You don’t have to invest anything into my words, but it’ll change nothing about my awareness of your situation.  Your Ledge activities are more obvious to me than most.  This shall never change, ever.

You might be wondering about how I could possibly know that you’re there.  You might even be trying to figure out how you can move one or two Steps to the Left or Right to Better conceal yourself from spying eyes like mine, but you’re not going to succeed in any of your efforts whatsoever.  You’ve not got the ability yet to conceal yourself and standing on that Ledge isn’t going to hide you.  It’s only after thoroughly searching your heart that you shall understand how I know that you’re there. 

No.  It doesn’t take much “know how” to know such things.  It’s simply a Strong sense you get about others after you connect solidly to your own Heart.  Once you do, you get really good at picking up on all those “on-the-Ledge” vibes others give off and without much effort too.  Ere you’ve been there yourself, you just don’t have what it takes to pick up on the Ledge activities of others.

And I can very much tell you that you’re there on the Ledge due to tremendous frustrations and repeated disappointments.  You expected something different from your involvement or your Brothers or both!  And you believe that you’ve been let down, or even misled by them!  And you believe that you didn’t get what you wanted, don’t you?  And you asked for something and something was given to you, but you didn’t get what you truly wanted, right?  And you sought something that you thought you’d wanted, but what you found was utterly unsatisfying, true?   You knocked upon a door, and sure, it was opened to you, but did you actually walk through it – really?

Yes.  I’m sure that I’m being unusually brutal in my questions and observations.  I know that I am.  And I can tell you without reservation that most Brothers get disgusted by this kind of bluntness.   They expect more “candy coating” on such things. 

And perhaps that’s exactly why you’re on the Ledge.  You might have expected everything that you asked for to be sweet when you got it.  You might have expected everything you sought to be acceptable to your past conditioning and views.  You might have expected every door that you knocked upon to swing open effortlessly so that you could enjoy what you thought was on the other side.

But the reality that you found was probably overwhelmingly real, unbelievably demanding and perhaps very much unacceptable to the point where you’re still a bit Speechless and have not gotten your Head back upon your shoulders quite right.   If it was presented properly, what you saw put out before you were sets of conditions that required Work from you; Work that you knew required you to Transform yourself from a child to an adult; Work that was not exactly what you wanted to invest your Heart in either.   And you know that what you heard were conditions that had to be met for true growth to come to Fruition.  What you felt most likely was your gut being pulled in two differing directions, intuitively knowing that neither direction was truly right for you.

Yup.  Without a doubt, the Masonic Ledge you’re currently on is possibly experienced as a place of solitude and maybe for some time now.  It’s were you found yourself after you were whisked through your Degrees, participated in your fair share of mind-numbing business meetings and engaged in endless “service” work.  It was where you found yourself when you finally took a good honest look at what you were involved in and recognized that you were starving for something else that such participation would never give you.

And I’m here to tell you that you’re exactly where you should be – on the Masonic Ledge! 

You’re almost certainly for the first time looking down at Masonry believing that you’re getting a good bird’s-eye view of its offered Reality.  But you should by now realize too that the view that you currently see is one of your own making.  You chose to see your involvement this way.  You chose to do what others have done and all that got you was on to that Ledge. 

And that is a good thing!  Your choices mean that you created this condition and your view so that you could see where bad choices can lead you. 

But it ain’t all that bad!  If anything, you can redirect your Masonic choices and recreate them so that you do get your needs met and perhaps lead others by example toward more nurturing Masonic activities.

 

Ledge Membership

You can start by choosing to look at your situation differently.  You have already made it through the Initiation, Passing and Raising and now you have your Traveling Papers.  Think about it!  This paper allows you to go anywhere that Recognized Brothers have inter-visitation.  What’s even better, now that you have your Papers, you can make connections worldwide with other Brothers who are on the Ledge with you. 

Yes!  You heard me right.  You’re not alone on this Masonic Ledge.  There are countless other Brothers just like you taking in that view.  The ones who have stuck around have recognized three important things about it. 

The first is that the Ledge is filled with Brothers just like you who want more.  They each realized that they weren’t going to get more from participating in the usual venues and that they could get what they wanted much easier Working with other Ledge members. 

The second is that the Ledge is an illusion.  They each realized that they were actually standing on the Ground Floor of a rich Foundation laced with valuable Veins of Light ready for the getting. 

The third is that the Ledge is all about each of them and not about others.  Rather than stepping off the Ledge, each of them stepped into its Light by Taking Personal Responsibility for their own Transformation.  Each of them no longer relied upon others to give them what they needed and wanted. 

In short, they all embraced Adulthood and all that comes with it and left youthful dependence behind.

Are you truly ready for Better?  Then take a Step in the Right Direction and join them!

Points to Perpend: 

1)  Who do you know who’s on the Ledge?

2)  How would you coach them to get their needs met without directing them back into the Lodge?

3)  What’s your plan to help Lodge members from becoming hopeless Ledge members?

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[i] 1) A cut or projection forming a shelf on a cliff, a solid wall, or a rock wall; a raised, horizontal, or projecting edge or molding intended to protect or check

2) An underwater ridge, rock shelf or reef

3) A narrow flat surface or shelf; especially one that projects from a wall of rock; rock that is solid or continuous enough to form ledges

4) A level of rock-bearing ore; a vein; a lode