Let the sun shine in!

It's been over a year since I've posted on The Burning Taper, and longer than that since I've posted anything actually relevant or even interesting.

It was burnout that kept me from writing, but more, much more than burnout, too. My life literally fell apart, layer by layer, until I ended in a hospital bed with doctors telling me that the emergency surgery they were about to perform might save my life, but that they could offer no promise. More than 50% of people who develop necrotizing fasciitis, a horrible condition resulting from bacterial infection, do not survive the first 48 hours. Depending on the location of their infection, survivors are often left without hands, arms, or legs, or if they do keep the infected extremities, they are unable to fully use them.

I consider myself blessed. I survived with hands, arms and legs intact and functioning.

Let me rephrase that: I am blessed because I survived. Period. Hands and arms and legs are a bonus. I'm alive!

I am today not only a modern medical miracle, but am now thoroughly a believer in the power of God, the Universe, prayer, positive thinking, the Law of Attraction, and most of all, in the incredible power of the love I felt from my friends and family during my three-week hospitalization and subsequent months of recovery and rehabilitation.

I am grateful I have hands to write with, legs to walk with, arms to hold my loved ones with, and a mind to think thoughts with.

No longer do I feel the desire or the need to rail against problems within Freemasonry. I hope that I have made some difference in Masonry and in the world through analysis and exposition of our brotherhood's "dirty laundry," and I hope that I have also published many good things about the fraternity and, with the "We All Shine On" series, about the brothers who make up this fraternity.

The Burning Taper blog lives on, but it is my desire and plan to use it from now on to light a path towards positive things. I hope not to succumb to the baser urge to point out the negative. Life is too short and too precious to spend it bitching and complaining and pointing fingers, even if that bitching, complaining and pointing of fingers brought about positive changes in whatever it was I was writing about.

Masons | Masonic Blog | Small Town Freemasonry | Freemasonry | Grand Lodge of Georgia | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Bloggers unite for love and compassion

I received an email from BlogCatalog, one of those blog-indexing websites The Burning Taper joined. The email said:

Thousands of bloggers from around the world are joining together this Thursday, September 27th with a single message: Stop Abuse!

BlogCatalog would love for you to be one of them!

On Thursday, September 27th, post about any abuse topic you care about — child abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse, drug abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, political abuse — and let the world know you stand united with thousands of bloggers as part of the Bloggers Unite "Blog Against Abuse" campaign. Depending on your topic, you can even link to local, regional, national, or international organizations that you care about or support. Every post will count!

I pondered it for a moment, deciding if I wanted to join in yet another one of those "everybody blog about a specific topic today" memes.

Two thoughts, or rather, one thought leading down two paths, came to mind.

The word "against" is negative. It's about fighting, about resisting.

I was reminded of a quote attributed to Mother Teresa: "I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there."

The other thought was of something I recall hearing in the movie The Secret. Focusing on something increases the probability of manifesting it. Focusing on "abuse," even if you're against it, according to the philosophy given in The Secret, will not make it go away. It will make it more likely to happen because you're giving it energy by thinking about it.

Do we have more or fewer people living in poverty because of the War on Poverty, more or fewer drug abusers and addicts because of the War on Drugs, or more or less terrorism and fear because of the War on Terrorism?

Abuse is the opposite of caring, of compassion, of love — so why focus on it?

Instead, let's focus on its opposite, something we really do want and need more of in our lives.

How about today we focus on Love? Make September 27 a day you express your love for someone, or something.

Give your pet a treat. Tell your parents, your children, your spouse or significant other that you love them. Go out with a friend, get drunk (if you must) and tell your buddy in slurred, next-day-embarrassing words, "I lub you, man." Share some brotherly love. Walk up to a stranger and tell them you love their fashion sense, their cool car, the way they do their hair, or say some other unexpectedly nice thing that will make them feel good. Smile at someone. Hug someone or something, even a tree. Practice random acts of kindness.

And remember to love yourself.

Love,

W.S.

Click here to play a MIDI file of The Beatles' All You Need is Love.

Love | Compassion | Freedom | Bloggers Unite | September 27 | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com