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Friday, July 18, 2008

I Know that I Don't Know

My son was wrapping up shower time and I had asked him to put away all the laboratory equipment that my little mad scientist brings out during bath or shower. Various jugs, bottles, and holders of different magnitudes lined up with dissimilar water levels all make up the necessities of a well planned shower.

He had a left what looked like a giant green spoon laying on the floor of the shower and I reminded him to grab it calling it a spoon. Turns out it is a little shovel that came with his beach toys. My son reprimanded me that it was in fact a shovel and not a spoon.

I responded I said, “Whatever you call it, just pick it up.” He immediately said, “I don’t call it anything. I KNOW that it is a shovel.”

That got me thinking about my journey in the Craft and what I knew before I took that journey and what I have learned upon the path. There are many things that we claim to know. When it comes to faith based issued we are generally very certain of what we “know” and might be quite unwilling to discuss other perspectives. Many Christians know that Jesus died for their sins. A number of Jews know that he didn’t. A number of Buddhists know that detachment is necessary for Nirvana and a number of Muslims know that Nirvana does not exist.

I used to know a lot when it came to faith and one of the things that Masonic light has brought me is recognition of what I don’t know. That may sound strange. The idea of being brought to light learning what they don’t know. But realizing that your perceptions are subjective is a powerful tool for the freethinker.

How many times in our everyday life would knowing ahead of time with certainty that you don’t know what you think you know would save you? It would have saved our beautiful world a war or two if we were not so certain of God’s personal thoughts and perspectives. How arrogant must you be to claim personal knowledge of the mind of God?

Learning that you don’t know everything is the relevance of Masonic light.

Let there be Light.

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