HUMILITY - A GIFT FROM THE GAOTU

By: Wor. Bro. Don MacLeod, GRNS
 

Perhaps you understand humility as some feeling of shame, of not being quite
good enough in your work, social or Lodge setting.  Or, perhaps you
understand humility to mean you must not allow yours gifts to be seen and/or
used for the greater good of the Craft and in your everyday life.

Not so.

Humility is a higher awareness, an authority, a knowledge.  Some develop
this gift early in life, others might not fully develop it until mid, or
later life.

It is an authority, an understanding of some particular subjects.  It is an
understanding of oneself on many different levels.  Humility is not
something we keep within ourselves.  It is not something that should make us
feel some sense of misplaced pride.  We do not own it.  It is a gift, from
the GAOTU, and we must pass it along to others.

You will recall the story of creation, when the GAOTU looked upon all that
He made, and He was pleased.  You and I are part of that creation.  We are
created in His image.  Each of us is a full and complete person and we are
as individual as snowflakes.

The GAOTU of not judge us on this level because He does not make mistakes.
People judge and people make mistakes.  We might attribute this to our gift
of free will.

When we make mistakes, we cannot go back and "fix" them.  We have damaged
our relationship with the GAOTU, our friends, our blood and Masonic
brothers, and ourselves.  It would be false humility to think we can change
the past.  We can however, seek forgiveness from those whom we have hurt and
pray for their forgiveness and that they will continue to care for us.  That
is our Masonic obligation.

We must rid ourselves of this emotional baggage thus making our life journey
much more pleasant and postive.  We move in only one direction - forward -
in our journey with and towards the GAOTU.

Individualism is part of our humility.  It is how we express ourselves in
different situations and on various topics of discussion.  It might include
our personal belief in the GAOTU, our love for ourself and others, our every
day preferences, our personal sense of moral and ethical behaviour, our
sexuality, our jobs and perhaps even our political beliefs and on other
topics.  That is what makes us who we are - and that is good.

How many times have your heard someone say, "There will never be another you
in all creation".  How is that for being special!  We may never become a
famous academic or biblical scholar, a philospher or musical genius.  We are
nonetheless, awesome and great because He created us.  We can however, excel
in some other areas, as husbands, fathers, blood or Masonic brothers,
friends, our worklife career, and so on.

Allow yourself to be more open in your everyday life, especially in your
Masonic career.  This openness may make some people/brothers feel
uncomfortable.  That's okay.  It is simply that they have not yet learned
how to express their humility, their individualism, to full advantage.  We
must be patient and supportive, thus allowing them to grow to a higher level
of self-awareness and esteem.  This is one area where our sense of brotherly
love comes into play.

In our interpersonal and Masonic affairs, we must also be cognizant of the
fact that no other person can make us feel anything, umake us react in any
manner.  This includes anger, love, hate, fear, passion, and so on.  All of
these emotional responses come from within ourselves.  They belong to us
alone.

We should be approachable.  Then our brothers will feel comfortable speaking
with us.  We should be open to both giving and receiving guidance and/or
advice.  We must be ready to whisper words of wisdom in a brother's ear.  In
doing so, we will set an example for other brothers to emulate.

In our Masonic careers, which should encompass every aspect of our lives, we
should not hide our humility, our abilities, our gifts.  We should use them
for the greater good and improvement of our individual Lodges, our District,
our Grand Lodge and Freemasonry as a whole.

Let your personal "light" shine so that others, in your Lodge and elsewhere,
will get to know who you really are. You will be amazed how most, and
hopefully all, brothers will respond to your gesture and how much more
enjoyable your Masonic journey will be.