Grand Master’s Message

THE GRAND MASTER’S MESSAGE:

JOURNEYING THE LENGTH OF THE LIGHT, ONE STEP AT A TIME

Alan L. Gordon, Grand Master

As the leaves change and the temperatures begin to dip back into the comfortable range here in Washington, I am conditioned by my profession to wind myself up and prepare for another year of long hours and stress as tax season swings into full gear.

Some years, this can cause me great anxiety. Looking at the long road ahead and its confusing, twisting path up a dark mountain of seemingly endless work can be intimidating. And that’s not to mention the run-of-the-mill fear of the unknown that lurks on that road, as well.

Being an accountant is a detail-oriented business. The misplacement or omission of the stray comma or decimal point can have an outsized effect on the bottom line of my clients, not to mention legal liability for me acting as their agent. It is a lot of responsibility, and it comes with a healthy dose of stress and anxiety. But it doesn’t really bother me.

Here’s why:

In the previous issue of this magazine, WB Scott Brown wrote about starting every journey with one step; and all this year, I have been talking about “Journeying the Length of the Light.” To me, these are the keys to taking on any challenge that life throws at you: take it slowly and methodically, and always let the light of morality, which we are given in Masonry, guide you.

Whether your challenge is personal, like losing some weight and getting in shape, or finding more time to spend with the people you love most in your life; or it is professional, like getting that certification or degree you have been putting off, or looking ahead at a particularly difficult work task that lies ahead of you, just by taking that first step into the light, your journey will have started.

In fact, for a true Craftsman, a long journey holds no fear, because we have already embarked the longest and most arduous journey of them all—the journey of improving ourselves as we work to chip the edges of our rough ashlar away to form

our perfect or smooth Ashlar. But the first step in this lifelong undertaking is stepping into the light, where we can best perceive our work. That Light, of course is the Light of knowledge and wisdom, which informs all of our moral works.

The best part about all of this, is that we don’t do it alone. What could be a cold and lonely path, we instead walk with our fellow brothers as guides and protectors. When we are not strong enough, or too tired to keep moving forward, a trusty brother is there to help us back on the path and into the warm Light. While the work is personal and individual, it is undertaken in the company of trusty friends—it’s a comforting thought.

So, while the days are shorter and colder, let’s continue to take comfort in both the first steps we are taking and in our unending work of self-improvement as together, we journey the Length of the Light.