Over the last two months we have discussed the difficult task of finding meaning in this often confusing world while simultaneously engaging in a daily practice of cultivating harmony with all those whom we encounter herein. It naturally follows, then, that the next step of our journey should be a discussion of choosing. In making choices, I live by a simple axiom; one put forth by Jean-Paul Sartre in his paper Existentialism and Human Emotions: “man is nothing else but what he makes of himself” (p. 15) which leads us into a discussion of the existential concept of subjectivism or self-making.
What is subjectivism? Sartre tells us it means “on the one hand, that an individual chooses and makes himself; and, on the other that it is impossible for man to transcend human subjectivity” (p. 16). In other words, our thoughts are purely subjective and we cannot go beyond that subjectivity because we are our self-aware thoughts. He explains that “in creating the man that we want to be, there is not a single one of our acts which does not at the same time create an image of man as we think he ought to be” (p. 17). So we are constantly appealing ourselves to the ideal of what we think we should be and do, an ideal that is created solely by one’s own thoughts and actions. We measure ourselves according to our own expectations, and act accordingly.
What Sartre is saying is that we, as self-making entities, can never fault in choosing what we think is best for us given the information, knowledge, and circumstances we find ourselves in whenever we make a choice. As self-choosing, we are only able to work with what we have, and will always choose the best course of action our abilities permit at the time in question. Evil, thus, is relegated to the status of a sort of impossibility because we will never choose an action that is contrary to our own idea of what a person should be and do, assuming we are thinking and perceiving in a healthy way and moral way.
The working tools of Freemasonry, when applied by a Mason to his morals, is an allegory for this self-making process -- we figuratively chisel away the rough or immoral parts and sculpt our new selves, our true selves according to the ideals we all share. This statue of what it means to be an ideal man stands upright, at perfect perpendicular from the level floor upon which we all stand as equals. This statue is neither randomly constructed nor abstract in fashion: the artist which is our inner self has thought long and carefully, having delineated the design ahead of time in a draft or plan. In short, we are all striving to become the culmination of that higher self which we have been envisioning since childhood: that God-like figure constructed from every thought and idea, the “what I may be.”
Freemasonry as a system, then, could be seen as a form of Existentialism in that we have always placed an individual’s own perspective and creativity at the centre, apart from all other considerations. It is no wonder, therefore, why so many Masons are filled with courage, having found the greatest strength of all in all: self-confidence.
I would like to challenge each of you to become that excellent self you know is within; come to Lodge and show us your mettle.
Brightest Blessings,
W. Bro. Adam Pigeon, W.M.
Exemplar Lodge #175, Edmonton
A.F. & A.M. - G.R.A.
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