Articles

The Structure of Time

I recently found myself a bit glad that my son's baseball league is drawing near an end.While I truly enjoy watching his games I find that they tend to put a considerable constraint on the time required to do other things.My wife Julie and I spent the busiest June of our lives chasing our daughter in the marching band (I think we only missed three parades), and sitting at the afore-mentioned baseball games.We greeted the end of marching band season with mixed feelings:excited for our daughter to be marching for her first year, proud that the band did so well,and yet relieved that we would have weekends to do other things.

Not long ago I was caught in the middle of a conversation between three friends.We were discussing how busy everyone one is and one made the statement that being too busy is an excuse, and there is no excuse for being too busy for what is important.I found not what he said to be the hook, but the how he said it.He was genuinely disgusted, and I normally don't hear my mild-mannered good friend speak in such a tone.I thought on what he said for days, and after pondering it for a spell, I realized how right he was.

I was watching a National Geographic Presents rerun about the Secret Society of Masons a few evenings ago, and when they discussed the symbolism of the two columns Jachin and Boaz these thoughts came down on me like a spotlight from heaven.As the columns represent strength and establishment so do each of us as Masons.

For a few years I worked for a national bridge contractor in the engineering department and learned a good deal about structures, their physics, strengths and weaknesses.This practical knowledge stays with me even today and when my rambling thoughts settled on our two columns I looked at them with an engineer's eye, and the following thoughts came to mind.

A superstructure is only as sturdy as its substructure.As a particular load becomes heavier (usually by increased size or span) more columns are required to support it.The superstructure can indeed be made more rigid in order to support itself creating longer spans (further distances between columns) however this occurs at a sacrifice.The sacrifice is increased weight.So while the overall structure may indeed be able to support itself it is done so by increasing the amount of load each column must bear.The answer is to reduce overall weight while maintaining structural integrity by increasing the number of supports to reduce the amount of load carried by each individual column.This in itself has a benefit maybe not readily noticed.If a superstructure is carried by many columns, and a particular column fails, it is much easier for the adjacent columns to divide the unsupported load between each other.The fewer number of columns, the greater the chance of the entire structure collapsing with the failure of just a single column.

Each of us a Masons and members of our lodge possess the same ability to be another column in the overall structure.Without us, a superstructure does not exist.It is important for all of us to share the burden with our Brothers.

Another key to this is that all of the columns must exist in the same structure at the same time.Ahhhhh……time.But how do we find the time?(And you thought my ramblings at the beginning didn't have anything to do with this did you?)

How dowe find the time?

If we truly our studying our craft, or paid attention during our discussions of the symbolism behind our working tools we would be living by the 24 inch rule or gauge.The rule reminds us of our duties to devote 8 hours to work, 8 hours to devote to God and our fellow men, and 8 hours of sleep.If we look at this a bit more figuratively, we can regard the 24 inch rule divided into three equal parts as a reminder to live life in moderation.

If we are indeed living our lives in moderation, how is it we never have time to do what is truly important?Is it that our society drives us so hard that we honestly can't find the time?Have we forgotten what is important or has time just become an excuse for not wanting to put forth an effort?I have thought about this very thing long before becoming a Mason, and like so many other things in my life, Masonry has shed light on the answers or at least illuminated the questions more clearly.

I do not have the answers to the questions I pose.I doubt anyone does.Not having the answers readily available has put me on a quest to look inside myself for satisfaction that an answer actually exists.One day on my forty mile drive home from work I recalled a conversation I had with an old acquaintance of mine that I had not seen for some time.He asked me where the fish were biting and I shamefully looked to the ground and explained that I hadn't been out but once or twice the whole season and when he asked why, I explained that I was just too busy.So while I drove a particularly boring section of Highway 15, I examined exactly what had made me so busy that I couldn't take time out to spend just two hours every week fishing with a friend or one of my children.I examined the previous few days I had just lived and asked myself just what my busy schedule had accomplished.I came up with nothing.Nothing.I couldn't say I had painted my house, or fixed my deck, spent a day at the range with my friends or a day in the boat with my kids. The tally sheet was incredibly lop-sided with TIME winning and MIKE losing.

I think it is important in today's society, no matter what lifestyle each of us lives, to assess these all-important, time-consuming events and weigh it's fruit against the fruit of spending that same amount of time, whether it be 15 minutes or 3 hours, doing something truly important like a game of catch with your boy, flying a kite with a grandchild or donating time to a worthy cause.Theseare the marbles in your jar that can be counted when the game is over.It is important as a pillar for those around you that you have time to help support the structure you have built together.Each and every one of you is important to the superstructures you help support, and please know that the pillars around you can help support you when the load bears too heavily upon your shoulders.You bet we will.We'll find the time.

Michael Ross