Brethren,

It's amazing that I now present the 12th Flourishing Thoughts from our Provincial Grand Chaplain, it seems like only yesterday that the first one was published.
This week our Chaplain mentions walking in someone else's shoes , well I was thinking about those who headed off on the 1000 Mile Walk earlier in the week and others that will be doing so in the days and weeks ahead. I am truly grateful for the superb support that the 1000 Mile Walk is receiving in aid of the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, such a worthy cause . Thank you members and those of other Provinces, families and friends one and all.

Andrew Mushet,
Provincial Grand Master of Glasgow

Hello again Brethren,
Another week combating pandemic; I wonder how that makes you feel after all these weeks? By now I’m feeling the tide of frustration ebb away and a sense of hopefulness begin to dominate my life. However when I talk to my masonic pals there are so many takes on where we are now and when Scottish Freemasonry will be back to some sort of normal and even what shape that normal will take. Another thing I pick up on is a wee bit of uncertainty that verges on fear. Fear is a healthy thing; remember you’re listening to an old soldier here who worked in bomb disposal so I know only too well that a good sense of fear can keep you grounded in reality. No-one’s indestructible; we all have our breaking point, the line our bodies and our minds cannot cross. I know that this sense of hope that’s beginning to shine in our lives can easily sweep us on with such a fervour that we loose sight of our surroundings and by surroundings I mean people in our lives. We may be filled with hope, we may be charged with drive and direction and we may find it odd that others aren’t. A wise man once told me that with two ears and one mouth we should listen twice as much as we talk. That would be my advice here, that when others don’t share our passion for immediate return to normality that we listen. Don’t try to persuade or change their minds – hear their fears, share in them and walk a bit of the road in their shoes for this is the way of love. I don’t think anyone’s really convinced by compelling argument but when someone get’s alongside, listens, shares in your story then walks the way with you; that’s the stuff that moves mountains. So brethren, be ready: ready for change, ready for the new normal but also be ready to lead other brethren and the rest of society there in love.

Fraternal Blessings,
Brother Rev. Robert Craig,
Provincial Grand Chaplain of Glasgow