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Masonic News & Views - Why are you a Mason
February 03, 2014
Greetings Brother,

I had occasion to make the acquaintance of another Mason recently. His name was Tom and we are both relatively new transplants to the area. As generally happens when you meet a fellow brother we fell into conversation and spent a pleasant while together. During the course of our conversation the common question came up, "How did you come to be a Mason?" I naturally launched into my familiar and well practiced story.

Like many a man, I think, the essence of what led me to knock on the door of a Masonic lodge was curiosity. Of course, it was no simple curiosity but a sincere desire to know. I prefer to think of it as more of a complex curiosity. My Grandpa Couch was a Mason, a Past Master of his Lodge and a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason. He loved Masonry and he loved his Lodge. Grandma used to say if anything were to happen to her and Grandpa wasn't around he could be found either at the Lodge building or fishing. He passed during my 18th year, before I had sense enough to be curious about anything more than the fairer sex and fast cars. But, as I grew older and began asking more serious questions and seeking more meaningful answers my Grandpa being a Mason took on significance that it never had before. I began to wonder what it was about Masonry that he had loved so well. What was there in Masonry that had meant so much to him, and could I find that for myself?

So I petitioned a lodge, was accepted, and joined. Have I found what Grandpa Couch found in Masonry? I like to think I have. Being a Freemason has become a part of who I am as it was a part of him. I understand his love of Freemasonry and I look forward to the time when we can sit together and discuss our shared devotion to the craft. I like to think he and Grandma would approve of the man and Mason I have become, as well as that towards which I continually strive.

Have I found answers to my questions? Some. But, I am an evolving being and as I change the answers change and new questions arise. I've learned that answers are like anchors. They may give us a sense of comfort and safety, but only by becoming unmoored can we progress in our journey. Having the answer to a question is not nearly as interesting, or fun, as the quest to find it.

As I was driving home, still enjoying the warmth of brotherly fellowship and replaying our conversation in my mind, it occurred to me that as much as I enjoy recounting the steps which led me to the Lodge door perhaps there are other questions we should be asking. Perhaps more meaningful questions than, "How did you come to be a Mason?" might be why are you still active as a Mason? What have you found in Masonry that keeps you coming back? What do you receive?

As for me, I can't imagine not being a Mason. I love its teachings, its ritual, its traditions, the fellowship, and the friendships. In my time as a Mason I have come to know men of simple greatness, men worthy of admiration and emulation, men whom I would not otherwise have ever met. In Masonry I receive a sense of being, a sense of wonder and a sense of becoming. Of course, these are only my answers and I'm still evolving.

Fraternally yours,

Tim Couch





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