Most Worshipful Grand Master, Brethren, Ladies and Guests, good evening.

In the last 24 hours – on average – you ate over three pounds of food, including this delicious meal. You drank nearly three quarts of water. You inhaled 438 cubic feet of air. You lost nearly a pound of waste. You spoke 25,000 words and moved 750 different muscles. You breathed more than 20,000 times. Your heart beat more than 100,000 beats. You exercised 7 million brain cells. Your blood traveled 168 million miles. With all that work you did, I hope you will have enough energy to bear with me as I discuss…

Or as I like to say; “honest honey, it’s only one night a month!” Seriously, if we think about it, “Mason time” can be defined as the duration of time we spend at Masonic functions and charity events, or the frequency of attendance at the many Masonic organizations we belong to, in Masonic education, or in our full time responsibility of just being Masons.

“Mason time” is directly proportional to how important we feel the Fraternity is to us, how interested we are in what makes up the Fraternity, and what we expect to gain or learn from the time we spend in the Fraternity.

Now, if we divide “Mason time” by the responsibilities we have outside the fraternity – which is the time we must spend daily, with our family, with our work and with our faith as well as all other important activities in our lives; we get a good idea of how compressed time is, how busy life is today and how important it is to balance our time. This gives rise to three points I would like to cover tonight. They are the significance in utilizing “Mason time” more efficiently, applying “Mason time” more effectively and most important of all, cherishing every moment we have in all that we do.

“Mason time” can be utilized more efficiently by implementing three distinct functions. First, establish a thorough plan and direction in whatever you do. Second, take action through organization in everything you do. And third, seize control of the moment in every situation. By carrying out these procedures; inefficiency is negated, slow and imprecise ritual is invalidated and long, drawn out or just plain boring meetings are eliminated.

The subject of long boring meetings reminds me of the story about the Preacher and the Parishioner. “The preacher was going on and on and on one Sunday when he saw one of his best parishioners get up and walk out of the church before the sermon had finished. The preacher was very annoyed, and the next time he met with the parishioner he asked him why he had walked out during his sermon.

“’I went to get a haircut.’ The parishioner replied.

“’Well, in heaven’s name,’ protested the preacher, ‘why didn’t you get a haircut before you came to church?’

‘”Because, Reverend,’ said the parishioner, ‘when I came to church, I didn’t need a haircut.’”

Establish a plan and direction. Keep meeting times short, precise and to the point. This will keep our members in the lodge chair and out of the barber chair. Masonic Functions can either be a festive occasion full of interesting interactions with one another or they can lull us all to sleep from boredom or shear exhaustion. Find ways to make your meetings more attractive to all, new and old members alike. Listen to what the members have to say.

What do our young members in the Fraternity feel are the most important reasons for joining this ancient and honorable Fraternity? Is it the camaraderie, friendship and brotherly love one experiences in this three-hundred year old Fraternity? Is it the search for the light of truth and knowledge? Or maybe, it is the spiritual tie through giving and aiding our fellowman?

I think it is a combination of all three of these important ideals. It is all about finding a sense of purpose and a belonging to a group of like individuals and it surely isn’t the business meetings. We talk about new business – we talk about old business – we need to get away from the monkey business!

Organization saves everyone time. There is nothing worse than having to wait for something that you know could have been delivered in due time only if prior organization had taken place. The collective time, that is everyone’s time adds to the importance of organization.

Young people today, in order to survive the pressures of society, family and work that have been placed upon them; must be able to multitask, multifunction and multiply their precious asset – time. We must not infringe on that asset.

Seize control of the tasks at hand. Leadership buys you freedom to handle the situation in a positive manner, control the duration of tasks and reap the benefits of efficiency.

“Mason time” can be applied more effectively through clear and precise communication. Communication is defined as the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech or writing, etc.

Communicate through clear, simple and precise terms; communicate by direction, stay on the subject at hand; and communicate with those whom you are having the dialog with, focus on them.

George Eliot in 1879 said it best, and it would do us all some good to take this to heart. He said, “Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.”

Good communication requires attentive listening. I don’t recall who said this but it is a good example, “A man was asked what his wife’s favorite flower was and he responded – that’s easy, it’s Pillsbury!”

Attentive listening provides insight into what the other person has to say. Someone once said, “Good listeners generally make more sales than good talkers.” This is true because the good listeners understand what the other person’s needs and desires are; good talkers don’t.

Again, time has become so very important in today’s animated society with all of the other duties and responsibilities life requires of us that it affects our lives and our ability to be a member of the Masonic Family.

Time has become an asset that cannot and must not be wasted. The writer Paul J. Meyer wrote, “Most time is wasted, not in hours, but in minutes. A bucket with a small hole in the bottom gets just as empty as a bucket that is deliberately kicked over.”

In the past our brethren met as a group to fulfill the need to belong, for socialization as well as brotherly love and friendship. Today our brethren meet for the same reasons but time has become a luxury to all of us. It is the minutes in the day that count, not the hours.

Cherishing every moment we have in all that we do is most often hard if not impossible. It seems like our priorities have changed in this world today and we don’t make the time to stop and smell the roses or gaze at the birds flying effortlessly in the clear blue sky or watch the golden glow of the sun as it sinks into the horizon. Use all of your senses and take the time to reflect and enjoy the beauty of God’s work today.

I would like to quote Scott Stratten a motivational speaker; who describes investing in time this way, “Imagine…there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes what you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Use all of it, of course.

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance, it allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you, each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposit, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits.

Invest it so you get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today. Take responsibility for your own happiness now. Enjoy life, now.”

We must balance our “Mason time” with our family time, with our work time and what we want to achieve in life. We often take for granted the things that are most important to us. We do not often thank our loved ones, our ladies and our families for the sacrifices they make that allow us to spend our “Mason time” away from them. Take the time to say thank you.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “ The man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.”

The clock of life is ticking and no one can predict where the hands of time will stop for them. Love life, now!

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your evening.

Frank C. Baker, Worshipful Grand Orator – 25 February 2006