“Endeavor to Persevere”

Brethren,

One of the favorite movies that I watch time and time again is “The Outlaw Josey Wales” starring Clint Eastwood.  I recently saw it again and I was struck by a quote spoken by Chief Dan George to Josey Wales: He says “Endeavor to Persevere!”. The context is that Josey is wronged by a group of Union Soldiers at the end of the Civil War. His vengeance is had through a series of cinematic adventures.  Chief Dan stated that Abraham Lincoln had met with him and the five civilized tribes and that the Secretary of the Interior spoke these words to them.  A Google search reveals the following:

Endeavor:

To do or affect something; make an effort; strive.

We must constantly endeavor if we are to succeed.

Persevere:

To persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in-spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement”

We admire people who look into the eye of adversity, dig in their heels, and persevere, no matter what the odds.

Chief Dan goes on to say that, after much thought, the 5 tribes decided to go to war against the Union and right the wrong of their land being taken away.  Much like many things in life we have all faced a moment where these words ring true.  We all face different obstacles in life to overcome, many self-made or externally caused.  Previously, I would begin to think of all the ways I could correct these issues, quickly becoming overwhelmed with the all the changes I wanted to make; making lists of all the things that could use a makeover in my life such as weight, money, health, mood, improve relationships, friendships, and family.

Masonry has given me a blueprint to negotiate these obstacles thrown into my path.  The words from the movie slowly crept back in my head. “Endeavor to Persevere”. I decide to take it one day at a time. Step by step I will tackle each goal with perseverance until I accomplish each goal. I vow to tackle each obstacle with style, persistence, and perseverance.

Patience is essential because there will be unforeseen difficulties: People who irritate you; situations that frustrate you. If you are patient, you will stay focused on the task. You don’t complain, you solve.

“The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.”

The path we choose is not always the easy path to attain the goal desired.  There are in my opinion no failures just moments that teach.  Einstein said it best, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.   So let us not keep doing it the same way and resolve to find another manner to solve our problem.  Yes, we will have a set back here and there; we will become discouraged, but with perseverance we will get there.  I do believe that positive thought helps align goals.

This worked for me with training Police K9’s no two dogs were alike.  Positive reinforcement produced the outcome desired where negative reinforcement produced many problems.  So, guess what the negative was thrown out and the positive prevailed. They all responded to different types of training due to their personality and breed.  Some were high energy like the Belgian Malinois, and some were more even keeled like the German Shepperd.  Both were expected to do a task but, training them to do that specific task was varied greatly through positive reinforcement such as treats, play, and praise.

Stay the course my brothers and Endeavor to Persevere!  Have a safe and enjoyable summer with family and friends and I look forward to seeing you in lodge!
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S&F
WM Nick Lamson
Trenton Cyrus #5