Brethren,
Welcome back from our summer recess. I hope these past months provided each of you an opportunity to rest, replenish yourselves, and spend meaningful time with family and those you love.
A question: What does it truly mean to be free? Freedom is not doing whatever we want, whenever we want, without regard for consequence. That is not freedom; that is merely being governed by our impulses. True freedom comes with a cost.
Our working tools remind us of this. The Compasses teach us to circumscribe our desires and keep our passions within due bounds. There is something profound in that lesson: a free man must possess the power to limit himself. If I cannot govern my appetites, my anger, my ego, my habits, or my desires, then I must ask myself—who is actually in control?
There is a cost to sovereignty. Governing oneself is difficult. It requires us to make choices we may not want to make, accept consequences we would rather avoid, and sometimes sacrifice what feels good in the moment for what we know to be right.
Perhaps this is one of the great challenges of becoming a Freemason—not merely gaining freedom but becoming a man capable of carrying its weight.
As we return to our work this fall, I challenge each of us to consider: “Where in my life do I need greater freedom, and what responsibility must I accept to obtain it?”
May we continue learning to govern ourselves, apply our working tools, and become not only better men—but truly “Free Men”
Sincerely and fraternally,
Bro. Adin Michelen, P.M., WM