History Tour – Step 2
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You are now at the starting point of the initiatory trail.
In Freemasonry, the Rough Stone represents the first stage of initiation. It symbolizes human imperfection. It embodies Man as he is at birth, with his ignorance, his shortcomings, his faults and his passions. It represents the initial, unworked state of the human being, still a prisoner of his ego and his impulses.
We are all born with a Rough Stone in our mind, and sometimes in our heart, which we must shape throughout our lives. For we are all, until our last breath, perfectible beings, still developing.
This awareness is the starting point of philosophical, spiritual and intellectual reflection, from which each of us can work to improve ourselves, in our own way, according to our abilities, our opportunities and our will, in order to build the Temple of our conscience and of our spirituality.
The initiatory trail thus consists, first of all, of becoming aware of one’s imperfection and committing to tirelessly carving one’s inner Rough Stone, working on it a little more each day to develop one’s mind and conscience, to perfect oneself inwardly, to master one’s passions, to strive for wisdom and virtue, to improve one’s thinking, and in doing so, to improve the world through the example of one’s behavior.
The work of the Freemason, like that of every human being, consists of shaping his Rough Stone in order to take part in a larger construction: a developed, harmonious human society symbolized by the Temple. Each individual thus contributes to the building of this harmonious society. Hence the importance of this personal work as a humble contribution to this collective endeavor.
To shape his stone, the apprentice uses tools such as the “mallet” and the “chisel,” representing energy and determination respectively.
This Rough Stone leads us into the Garden of Uncertainties. For life, too, is full of uncertainties. Throughout life, we must move forward, make choices, without knowing what the consequences of those choices will be. We may make a good choice or a bad one. We do not know in advance; we only know afterwards. Sometimes choices that seem good at first have unforeseen negative consequences, and vice versa. Life is thus full of uncertainties. But we must choose. We must move forward, progress, commit ourselves, shape and polish our Rough Stone a little more, a little better, each day, all while immersed in the fog of uncertainty about our decisions, our actions and their consequences.
The only thing that helps guide us is that inner intuition, felt in our hearts, that vague sense of being aligned or not within ourselves, as if we had a “plumb line” hanging inside us. This intuition, if we know how to listen to it, guides us along the path of life. And if we think we have taken a wrong path, it is always possible to change, to turn back or to take a “step sideways” to gain some perspective and adjust our course. Such is life.
Let us continue our visit now. Beware, the chamber where the next stage is found is not the most visible. Follow the small path that discreetly leads off to your right and takes you to a statue of a horse…
