Masonic lodges all over the world are suffering from 2 things: dwindling attendance and lack of new candidates. Many lodges have gone "dark" as a result. My own mother lodge's future is uncertain.
It is a common understanding that this is so because Freemasonry can be brain-numbingly boring for the most part. The bulk of what we do can be classified as office-work stuff instead of esoteric stuff. The conspiracy theorist will surely be dismayed when he or she finds out that reading of minutes, collection of fees, planning the next fundraiser is how we roll.
A lot of us Freemasons cry for "real" Masonic Education. We want enlightenment. When we go out of the house to form lodge, we hope for a good night of philosophy and camaraderie with the boys- not accounting and bickering. We're humans after all, we want things ideal.
In my journey however, I came to a fuller understanding that those things that bring discomfort are actually the things that instruct. The things that are most important for survival can be boring as hell. They are repetitive and requires a fair amount of thinking. No easy task.
I'm a designer-entrepreneur and a father of 4. Ideally as a designer, I'd like myself to stay creative for the whole day. I would like to spend time designing, drawing, and crafting. I'd like my day to go by like that. But the truth is I also have to deal with customer accounts, emails, spreadsheets, analytics, updates, etc. The entrepreneurial side takes up a lot of time.
As a father of four, I imagine my ideal day with my kids as a peaceful and fun day of just interacting with them. But as many parent of multiples will tell us, this parent will spend most of his or her time with kids as a referee, judge, and jury- and let's not forget the good cop bad cop routine. The little free time must be wisely spent (chores vs Netflix) or else suffer dire consequences.
Bob Marley once said, "Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." It echoes the beliefs of Buddha and Jesus. Life is suffering. With that said, go to lodge and enjoy some accounting.
