Shirley Manson & Freemasonry!

The Alt-Rock band “Garbage” were in Australia recently; on tour & having a great time of it. Given the age of a few of the Members of Canoblas Lewis, there was quite a bit of interest in this band; but, to those that are not into 90’s Alt-rock AND in order to refresh your memory as to who Garbage are please have a look at the links below:

This break through Hit (Vow - From the debut album Garbage):

Or this masterpiece "Queer" from Garbage

Or this hit from their next Album Version 2.o

Or this song from their latest Album "Strange Little Birds"

BUT, as good as the above songs are, lead singer Shirley Manson, the wonderfully intelligent, pink haired Scot, gave an interview to the ABCs 7:30 report on November 24, which showed that some artists are great on so many levels (You will have to click the blue link below as it is on ABC.net not YouTube so I can't insert a clip like the above):

This Link is to Shirley's interview on ABC.net.au

The whole interview is really interesting & I would urge all to watch & read the transcript, but, for those that do not have the bandwidth available, here is the relevant section that I would like you to consider:

SHIRLEY MANSON: Well, there's so much pressure on young women to be beautiful.

To put a photograph up on social media, and have people go, "Wow, you're so beautiful".

And unfortunately, it's such an empty pursuit, really, to be told you're beautiful. It's kind of meaningless, because there will always be another beautiful woman to follow, and I think women really need to shift their focus on to something that creates a foundation for them, as they grow through life, you know.

The sentence in the article that I thought summed up her thoughts: “Nobody stays young and beautiful forever; therefore, build a platform on which you can stand through storms”

Building a personal foundation to improve themselves. What a fantastic statement from a public figure. Oh how we wish that there were more positive role models of Ms Manson's type out in internet-land these days.

Now whilst Ms Manson is referring to women & her desire to see them better themselves over the pursuit of the frivolous, her sentiments could equally apply to any young man and to the benefits of being a member of a Masonic Lodge. Give yourself a chance to be the best “You” that “You” can be, focus on something that creates that foundation for the rest of your life. Truly a “masonic” thought from a public figure; so much so, I feel it appropriate for an early: So Mote it Be!

Thus, from that statement, you may insinuate that Shirley Manson is a Freemason, or, member of Lodge Canoblas Lewis… Or perhaps the Order of the Eastern Star... or maybe not!

Obviously, Freemasonry is a fraternity, and membership is a male privilege, this fact, definitely does not mean or in anyway imply misogyny, rather, it is simply a matter that there are times to be with your brothers in lodge, and that these times allow you to create that foundation for yourself, and by being a better man with a foundation for personal growth, that we empower the women in our lives to be the Best that they can be. We at Canoblas Lewis like to think of the situation as a “Win Win”!

How great is it to be a Freemason?

How great is it to be a member of Lodge Canoblas Lewis?

How great were Shirley Manson’s thoughts?

So mote it be!

Postscript:

I was going to start this post with this piece of Humour:

“So, the members of Lodge Canoblas Lewis would like to announce a little known fact:

Ms Shirley Manson, the lead singer of the Scottish-American Indy-Rock band “Garbage” is, in fact a freemason”. As funny as this would have been, it would detract from the post & the solemnity of what Ms Manson said, and it would also have detracted from the positive way that we, as freemasons like to conduct ourselves in relation to women & self improvement.

Thanks for being OK with this!

Leigh

Other famous non-members of Lodge Canoblas Lewis

As we come to the end of another year, we thought that we would take the time to talk about another famous non-member of Lodge Canoblas Lewis. And, as it is near the summer solstice, we thought we'd talk about the bloke that this whole winter solstice festivities was created for...

This bloke is actually Odin, the Chief of the Norse Gods

In this picture he is astride his magical 8 legged steed, Sleipnir, who is also his grandson  (via his adopted son Loki)... but that is another story…

Odin was also called the “Yule- father” & many of the Santa Claus & other Christmas traditions are distant shadows of Odin worship, again, we don't talk religion in Lodge Canoblas Lewis, so we will save that part of Christmas for other forums! 

Interesting fact about Odin: He had only one eye… having lost an eye to drink the mead of inspiration. Also, he hung himself for more wisdom. He is attested to by over 170 differing names… (talk about poetic license! )

So, in addition to his other jobs,  Odin was also the god of those slain in battle… and the god of the hanged. And he was the boss of the Valkyries. He is also the bloke that is in charge of the wild hunt (which is a heathen winter's night folk epic that appears across Europe). And we thought that being in Lodge Canoblas Lewis kept a man busy!

Odin had many good qualities, such as his continued quest for knowledge, his gift of poetry to humanity and Yule. The list goes on… But alas, he Would not have been a member of Lodge Canoblas Lewis as we meet on a Monday & Odin’s day was Wednesday, we can safely say that he would have been a member of Lodge Carringtonia out at Blayney or Lodge Oberon.

We will have to visit both of these lodges quite regularly to see which one he is a member of!

So Mote it Be!