My Brothers, Sisters, and Friends,
I invite you to take a trip with me…..
And, oh, the places you'll go!
Several years ago, at the St. Louis national convention, I had the opportunity to travel to the magnificent arch, the Gateway to the West. It is truly an inspiring, architectural feat, in its beauty and majesty. Under the arch and underground is an equally magnificent museum, depicting the inspiring history of the westward movement of our great nation.
Of particular interest is the exhibit of Brothers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, twenty-nine and thirty-three year old Masons, respectively, leading a small cadre of men, an expedition, sent by President Jefferson, to open up the West.
After two years of battling nearly insurmountable problems - hunger, fatigue, desertion, hostile enemies, severe illness and death - Lewis and Clark and their party reached the headwaters of the Missouri River. The advanced scouting reports led them to believe that once they reached the Continental Divide, they would then have only a half-day trip to the waters of the Columbia River, down which they would float safely to the Pacific Ocean. The hard part was behind them … or so they thought.
Meriwether Lewis left the rest of the party behind him to climb the bluffs, so that he could see the other side. He was bursting with enthusiasm. He was sure that when he looked over the bluffs, he would see the waters that would carry them the rest of the way. Imagine what he felt when, rather than seeing a gentle, sloping valley, he gazed upon the majestic, rugged, and mammoth Rocky Mountains! And in doing so, he became the first non-Native American to see those immense peaks.
What do we do when we think our biggest problems are behind us, only to find out that we have just been warming up? How do we rally the troops?
Eventually, the crossing of the Rocky Mountains would become the supreme achievement of the entire trip, for it would bring out from each of them enormous courage and perseverance, because when they had conquered the Rocky Mountains, they knew that they would then conquer anything.
And this, my brothers, seems like the perfect story with which to begin this column, when, after years of continuous service, National Sojourners finds itself engaged in discussions between brothers, involved in strongly-held positions between brothers who have become so caught up in their own beliefs that they tend to forget their promises to whisper wise counsel in the ear of erring brothers, not to speak evil of their good names, and to aid, support and protect each other.
And so, on this day, with so many opportunities and so many challenges presenting themselves to Masonry, like Meriwether Lewis, I feel a sense of excitement and anticipation as you and I stand one step away from looking over the bluff, and as we take the next step forward, we can see that although we have climbed one mountain, a whole range of mountains looms before us.
I see Lewis and Clark … and I see every Sojourner everywhere … in the same boat … asking the same questions:
- Where do we go from here?
- What do we do from here?
- How do we go on from here?
- Why do we go on from here?
- What is the purpose of our going forward?
Today is a day about journeys … a day about mountains … a day about seeing challenges as opportunities … a day about new beginnings for all of us.
I find myself reflecting on one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books, entitled, "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" It is written for adults, and it is certainly applicable to each of us today. It is excellent reading and appropriate teaching, with interspersed reality.
Oh, The Places You'll Go!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes… you won't.
I'm sorry to say so, Bat sadly it's true
That bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.
You can get all hung up in a prickly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in the lurch.
You'll come down from the lurch with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a slump.
And when you're in a slump … you're not in for much fun …
For un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted … but mostly they're darked.
(It's) a place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
Or right-and-three-quarters? Or maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple, it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
For a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you'll start in to race
Down long waffled road at a break-necking pace…
And grind on for miles across weirdish wild space…
Headed, I fear, towards what feels like a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
For people…waiting.
Waiting for a train to go…or a bus to come…or a plane to go…
Or the mail to come…or the rain to go…
Or the phone to ring…or the snow to snow…
Or waiting around for a Yes or a No.
Or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite…or waiting for the wind to fly a kite…
Or waiting around for Friday night…
Or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake, or a pot to boil… or a better break
Or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants, or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just… waiting.
My Brothers, it is that Waiting Place that this beloved order of ours finds itself today.
We are waiting to see how we deal with the fundamental issues of real brotherhood, including that of Prince Hall Masonry.
We are waiting to see how we will deal with the question of NSI, CLMA, and the Legacy Center..
We are waiting to see if every moral and social virtues will cement us into one sacred band, or society of friends and brothers, among whom no contention should ever exist.
And so, we wait, and we wait, and we wait. Surely, the time has come for us to act, and to act with courage and conviction.
My brothers, I present to you, and to each of you, these few words by Longfellow, which I fervently hope you will read carefully and take unto yourselves:
Lives of all great men remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time:
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Again, we find ourselves at The Waiting Place, and my prayer for you and for every Sojourner wherever he might be…is that we might be gripped by the power, the presence, and the purpose of Freemasonry in its truest form…so that wherever we go and whatever we do… we will change the world for the better and for God.
Thank you for all that you do for National Sojourners, Inc.
God Bless You and God Bless America!
CAPT James E. Vann
National President
National Sojourners, Inc.
