Beginnings
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” -Lao Tzu
Brethren,
First, and foremost, I would like to say thank you and share a short anecdote about my Masonic beginnings.
As a child, I was fortunate enough to attend school on the opposite side of the town I grew up in. As a result, the bus I travelled on would pass a very singularly shaped building, so peculiar in fact, that it sparked an unwavering curiosity in me. As the years passed and I moved away from my hometown, the thought of the peculiar building stuck with me. It prompted me to do some research into the symbology of the building and I discovered that it was a Masonic Lodge. Asbury Jordan, as a matter of fact.
It would be many years later that I would walk through the doors of Olive Branch, and the feeling of childlike curiosity that had been ignited so long ago, started to burn brighter than before as I spoke to the Brethren. It filled me with a desire to learn as much as I could, then learn even more. It wasn’t only the symbology and ritual; it was the connection the Brothers had with each other. The understanding that we are here for a common reason and that is our common ground.
Finding common, or level ground with all human beings, especially the Brethren, helping each other become greater than we already are, that is what kept me walking back into the Lodge week after week. And as the Worshipful Master, I hope to foster that same sentiment among the Brethren so as to keep us stepping in the right direction.
Thank you again, and please come along with me, my Brothers, and together we can continue our journey of a thousand steps.
Fraternally,
WM William D. Bilbow, III