The 24 inch gauge

Well the 24 Inch gauge If you paid attention dear brother, to the first working tool shown to you as an EA was the gauge. Well I would love to place that gauge in the hands of an Entered Apprentice, then slowly open it, what I love showing the EA is the brass fittings and the wood  - this implement is to show that life can be folded and put into your hip pocket the golden embellishments is for the lovely moments each day has as it unfolds! Our ability to assess, to compare, to measure… is taught by this tool. I want to tell that to the mason…, but you know what a chaos it will create in the minds of the Past Masters.  Let it be, I am one too! Tisk! Tisk! Tisk! Brother Dr Govind S. Welling, this was not expected of you! You write so many papers and you cannot recite the working tools! The gauge reminds us of the time, to be spent in labour and refreshment and in prayer and helping a deserving brother!   Blah…Blah… Bla… this lesson is not really understood by the EA, he does not know the old saw too…Lost between sunrise and sunrise one golden hour, studded with sixty diamond minutes. No reward offered brother because it is gone forever! We must not, of course, be too literal, and I do not really think we are admonished to spend each day, six hours on our knees, and six hours at the office or shop, six at the dining table and six in bed! It does suggest, rather, the equal importance of all four of these functions in the proper use of our time and the making of the full Man. Nourishment of our bodies by refreshment and sleep; enlightenment of our minds by labour, and the practice of prayer. *What is prayer.* Give me this and give me that is not prayer at all, it is that prayerful attitude of mind in which, every hour of the day, we feel the Great Architect of the Universe at our shoulder, supervising and encouraging our work and ready to answer any true and sincere yearning for guidance and strength. *What is labour!* Not just putting in time at the office, shop, or whatever, but real all-out dedicated effort; for who has not experienced the job which comes when we put everything we have got, heart and soul, into a task which we know we can accomplish! *Wholesome Refreshment*… ah standing in line after the lock down is over?  Food, drink, and entertainment taken with honest enjoyment, but without gluttony and bad taste; and finally sleep without a care in the world, without rationalization, the subconscious is clear. *What is helping a brother?* Being mindful of his needs and wants, if you are judging him. NO! That is not helping a brother, protecting his character behind his back is, looking after his children not on your terms and conditions, brethren *not* on your terms and conditions is. If you cannot do, do not help, it is well within your rights… practice it that is hard. After you have helped it gets worse  - because you need to keep your mouth shut! Pay heed to the twenty-four inch gauge that folds, it lets us know, so much; that it appears… we cannot take it to heart! Just like today they, the foldable twenty-four inch gauge is rare to see, do not make its lessons rare too, my dear brother!