A Past Master's Thoughts

Earlier today I saw a comment on a post I made in another Freemasonry group… and right on cue, the “trolls” showed up like it was their full-time job and someone rang the dinner bell. Attacking not only Freemasonry, but me personally. Which, honestly, is impressive—because it takes real dedication to misunderstand that much all at once. So to the “trolls,” I want to take a moment and say: thank you. No really… thank you. Because if I didn’t have something of value, you wouldn’t be investing this level of energy. I mean, nobody rage-types essays about things that don’t matter. That’s not trolling—that’s unpaid marketing. Now, I’ll admit, it took me a while to get here. There was a time when I’d get fired up. You know the feeling—neck tight, blood pressure rising, fingers hovering over the keyboard like you’re about to type the Constitution 2.0. I felt like I had to defend Masonry. Turns out… I don’t. Masonry doesn’t need me to defend it. It’s been doing just fine for a few h...

Here it is—May 5, 2026. In Star Wars terms, the day of the Sith. I hope you had a great May 4th, and that the Force was with you. Actually, the Force is with you—“always.” But how do we really look at that? We tend to frame things in opposites: the Jedi on one side, the Sith on the other. Both draw from the same Force, yet apply it in very different ways. It’s the age-old struggle of good versus evil—something that may be best summed up by attitude. As Jack Sparrow puts it: “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” There are many ways to explore this idea. One comes from Bible, in Matthew 5:45: “...for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Unpleasant things are going to happen. That’s simply part of life. We may not look forward to them—I know I don’t—but they’re inevitable. Even in Masonic teachings, there’s the idea of Fortune’s Wheel. Wheels turn. You can’t stay on top forever, ...

I came across a short reel by Michael Poll this morning that set my mind turning—and as you might expect, it led me down the path of spirituality. I’ll do my best to keep “religion” out of this, or at least set it to the side. To me, religion often carries the weight of dogma—ideas presented as unquestionable truth without room for personal exploration. Spirituality, on the other hand, feels alive. It’s personal. It’s how we reach toward the Divine in our own way, not how we’re told we must. That distinction matters to me. It’s likely why I’ve stepped away from religion while still holding tightly to the spiritual. Now, I know there are thoughtful people—friends of mine included—who see no real difference between the two. I respect that view. I simply don’t share it. (And yes, I’m aware that pairing my name with the word “humble” might raise a few smiles—I had one myself writing that.) For clarity’s sake, I’m not a Christian, and haven’t been for a long time. My struggle has neve...

From time to time, brothers reach out to me when they’re struggling—whether with one thing or another. I want to be clear about something: those conversations stay exactly where they belong—between us. They are not shared, no matter what. Those conversations have made me reflect on something we often say in Masonry: that we take “good men and make them better.” In one sense, that’s absolutely true—we encourage each other to become the best versions of ourselves. But in another sense, it’s not quite accurate. I cannot make anyone do anything. Real growth has to come from within. In Roman mythology, there was a god named Janus, a figure with two faces who could look both forward and backward. He was the god of beginnings and endings, presiding over transitions—what we might call “in-between spaces.” These spaces were considered sacred because they marked the passage from one state to another. If you think about it, every moment we experience is one of these in-between spaces. Take ...