So It’s been a while since I posted anything. I’m admittedly not an inspired writer. Having performed my Entered Apprentice proficiency, I find myself 2 weeks away from my second degree. As part of this experience I’m required to answer some questions, fortunately in written form, to be turned in prior to the proceedings. What’s interesting, to myself at least, is that before diving into the questions in question, I was trying to figure out what it meant to be an Entered Apprentice. What was I to have learned and taken away from the whole experience. What is it, other than memorizing more than a few words, that makes me qualified to to hold this degree and progress to the next.
You would think that the very name “Entered Apprentice” would be a sufficient enough definition. However given that I tend to over think a great many things and look for meaning beyond what is in front of me, or what may even really be there, it wasn’t enough. I felt that there was supposed to be some deeper meaning behind everything that I had experienced so far. It was with all this in mind that I began to go over the questions that were given me. It was these same thoughts that kept me to date, from putting an answer to paper that I was happy with.
Questions aside, I believe that I have found the answer to my own questions about what it means to be an Entered Apprentice. I believe that like most things in life, the true meaning of something is greatly determined by personal experience. For my self being an Entered Apprentice is obviously a beginning in the craft, but also where you form the foundation of what you want your Masonic experience to entail. It is the point where you decide whether it’s all about dinners and titles or finding a deeper understanding and meaning of the craft. I realize that by the very questions I posed to myself, that I want my experience to be more than simply attaining the titles that accompany the rituals and proficiencies. I want to have a deeper understanding of the reasons and meanings behind all that I experience. This self reflection has made me feel comfortable, not only with my understanding of being an Entered Apprentice but, with moving forward in the craft and my Masonic journey.
Freemasonry is a road traveled by many, but it’s the journey that makes it our own.
