Masonry and the Pursuit of Happiness

One of my favorite sayings is "The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

I feel that much the same thing can be said for Masonry - once a candidate is raised to the sublime degree if they make an effort to get involved with their lodge, if they make time to attend meetings and special events, if they make it their business to learn the ritual - they will be rewarded for their efforts.

Will the reward be financial...no it will not. Will the reward be public recognition...probably not. So what am I referring to when I say that you will be rewarded?

You will be rewarded through the personal satisfaction of becoming an integral part of something much bigger than yourself, our lodge or possibly even your Grand Lodge.

You will truly become an member of The Craft when the benefit of the fraternity is of higher importance than that of measuring one's own accomplishments.

I neglected to mention to whom this saying can be attributed - none other than Benjamin Franklin, Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania and a Master Mason of much distinction that contributed much to The Craft as an anonymous contributor to many Masonic writings of the 1700's.