Bro. Juan Sepulveda
Here is a guest post from Bro. Bro. Juan Sepulveda, with a sobering reminder that we as Freemasons must keep our external (physical) temple well maintained, if we are to properly undertake our external (material) and internal (spiritual) endeavors.
I have two little children and whenever we go to our favorite supermarket, we have a ritual that we practice almost every time. If I forget about it, the children will certainly remind me. At Publix, which is a wonderful supermarket chain here in Florida, they have a scale to weigh yourself near the exit. It’s not one of those fancy digital scales, it’s one of those elegant ones with the giant dial on the front and the needle that speeds up to the number of shame (or pride if you have been behaving well).
I am writing this shortly after the Holiday season and of course you can imagine that the sight of that needle approaching my all-time highest weight was a sobering thing. Of course for the children this is a fun activity, but I must confess that when I recently stepped on that scale I almost called the Manager of the store because there had to be something wrong with that cruel machine!
The experience was sobering because I am almost at the heaviest I have ever been, I am sure it is not new muscle mass. Which brings me to the topic I want to share with you; Our body is our Temple and if we only focus on keeping our brain in good shape, while neglecting our body’s well being, then we are fooling ourselves into believing that we are progressing as much as possible.
Don’t worry, I am not about to try to sell you the latest diet pills or convince you to join my P90X team (which in my case is imaginary), but I am going to tell you that it should become a priority in your life and I am trying to make it a priority in mine.
“When we focus on making our body healthy, we are better stewards of our role on earth.”
How did I pack up the extra few pounds? by not eating right, sleeping less and by decreasing my physical activity. It is nobody’s fault but my own, which is why I have to shake this off myself. The worse part of the weight gain is not the appearance factors, but rather the decrease in energy, the irritability and the lack of focus, which ends up affecting my productivity.
Here is where the word Temple comes in. A Temple is a sacred place, where one can get closer to the Great Architect of The Universe. If we are cheating ourselves from having a healthy body, we are not presenting the best version of ourselves before the Creator. Not to say that He is concerned with our new waist size, but when we focus on making our body healthy, we are better stewards of our role on earth. The more focus and energy we have, the better we can help others. If we have enough energy, then we can work harder and smarter to become the best version of ourselves.
Just like a well maintained machine can perform its tasks with ease and reliability, when we work on keeping our Temple healthy, then we can perform our duties with zeal, determination and effectiveness. We owe it to ourselves and to those around us to continue becoming the best we can and this is not limited to our mind and spirit… Our body is our Temple, let’s keep it well.
Bro. Juan Sepulveda is the host of The Winding Stairs Freemasonry Podcast, a program dedicated to Masonic Education and The Art of Self Improvement. He is also a professional artist, whose paintings are included in private and corporate collections around the world, including the permanent collection of The Museum of Freemasonry in Sydney Australia. To learn more about the Artist, The Masonic Podcast and to see examples of his growing Masonic Art Collection, visit www.TheWindingStairs.com
