Article: Are you Weak if you are Patient?

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Are you Weak if you are Patient?

A Patient Man doesn't only waits, He waits well.

As Masons, we are encouraged to study and apply certain virtues; Among them, Fortitude, which helps us to be brave and endure hardship.

When we focus our energy on understanding and living Patience, we have to refute various misconceptions about what being Patient really is. When a man increases his patience, he is not becoming weaker or more submissive. On the contrary, he becomes stronger by becoming active in the suppression of his impulses and becomes a more controlled individual. Isn't part of becoming a mason, circumscribing our desires and keeping our passions under control? By virtue of becoming Masons, we do not automatically acquire these ideal traits we have come to admire in our Brothers from yesteryear. Instead, we are entrusted with the knowledge and tools to improve ourselves and we are welcomed into a community of similar men, whom also desire improving themselves. Therefore, it is by the ACTIVE pursuit of perfection, that elusive and unreachable state, that we will increase our self control. We grow more perfect with the meaningful application of the knowledge received and the arduous work employed using the tools entrusted to us. Avoiding situations that might test your patience is not the solution. Confronting those situations with a self awareness and the determination to endure, is what will help our patience grow stronger. Patience is commonly described as waiting without complaint. But I would add to that definition the word Actively. Actively waiting without complaint; enduring without complaint, pushing through the pain, without displaying an exaggerated expression of pain on our face. I enjoyed the quote above, because it says so much with so little words. It shows the true strength behind patience. That strength or fortitude, which comes with the relentless pursuit of tranquility with a spirit of serenity and determination in complete balance. Let's help one another to become more patient and improve the quality of life of those around us. Even when making a little progress at a time, let us be patient and show the world that we are not weak by it. But strong as a Lion's Paw.

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