brotherly love and harmony

[GKA]

my lodge is experiencing some seious growing pains, not so much from incresed membership, that would be nice, more from increased exposure to ideas many of us are not accustom to. The recent events in Paris have made that all too clear.
In the light of wanting to show solidarity with the victims of that tragety, some of us have lost sight of that valuable tenent of Masonry, brotherly love. I must admit that I too have fallen far short of what is expected of a Master Mason.

 

[hanzosbm]

I'm very glad you brought this up, as it's something I've been struggling with myself.

Excluding Masons for a moment (because I'd be pretty shocked if those carrying out these crimes are brothers), I feel that the deeper lessons in Masonry mirror those of many various religions and philosophies throughout the world and time. While we could go on for years discussing that, let's just take the tenant of 'love thy neighbor as thyself'. I've been working REALLY hard lately at asking myself 'how would you react if it was your child doing this?' every time I encounter dealings with others. I feel that this is the best way to practice universal love.
But then, these events happen. It's one thing to not get riled up and easily forgive the guy who cut you off in traffic by saying 'how would you react if it was your child doing this?', but it's a whole other issue when you see the events that have transpired recently. It's one thing to turn the other cheek when struck, but what happens when the strikes keep coming? I'm trying hard to rid my heart of anger, but when these types of things happen, I'm honestly at a loss with how to process it.

 

[GKA]

My sentaments exactly, It becomes even more difficult when it happens at a place where we feel safe, in lodge, it becomes more than just a dissagreement, it becomes a personal betrayal