Latest / Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries / Episode 43. Health & Wellness

Transcript

Episode 43. Health & Wellness · Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries

• 0:20
  Hello again, everyone.
• 0:21
  Welcome back to Minnesota Masonic histories and mysteries.
• 0:24
  There are a lot of podcast options out there, Masonic and otherwise.
• 0:28
  We appreciate you checking this out each week and spending your time with us.
• 0:34
  A question we hear on a routine basis is what do Freemasons do?
• 0:39
  What is the point of your organization?
• 0:42
  Well, in the most basic sense, we are a group of like minded men.
• 0:46
  Striving to become the best version of ourselves, embracing core values, committing to be the change that we would like to see in the world.
• 0:55
  A somewhat confounding description of Freemasonry often says, we make good men better.
• 1:01
  Well, it goes without saying you can't take a bad person and magically make him good.
• 1:06
  But just exactly how do we go about making a good man better, if not the best version of himself, in multiple areas of life?
• 1:15
  Our ritual and value teachings are an obvious starting point, but where do we go from there?
• 1:21
  You've likely heard me say prior that at its core, the Masonic Lodge was intended to be a men's support system on all fronts of life.
• 1:29
  We are in the relationship business, friendship that equates to authentic brotherhood.
• 1:36
  So with that in mind, what exactly are we doing for each other as far as striving to make better choices in our lives?
• 1:43
  Health.
• 1:44
  wellness, ongoing personal education, listening or coping, going through something tough.
• 1:50
  Leadership skills, though the list is quite long.
• 1:53
  The current state of the world is one of isolation.
• 1:57
  Go it alone.
• 1:58
  The friendship recession is a real thing.
• 2:01
  Healthy living has taken a backseat.
• 2:04
  Digital isolation has exacerbated many things.
• 2:08
  Depression, addiction in all its forms.
• 2:11
  Sedentary lifestyles overall, not great choices have become mainstream and very much accepted.
• 2:18
  Social media encourages us to ignore the reality of our health and celebrate positivity regardless of our blood pressure numbers, lab work results, or various chronic conditions.
• 2:32
  Worse yet, scores of people have little to no interest in changing up their lifestyle as they are counting on a magic prescription pill.
• 2:40
  In hopes that they can continue making unhealthy or unwise choices and rely on that magic bullet to cure them of their medical conditions.
• 2:50
  The Western diet, I recently listened to a podcast, a gentleman spoke of our Western diet being mostly sugar, refined flour, very little greens.
• 3:00
  Obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes are all off the charts.
• 3:06
  In fact, type 2 diabetes has tripled in the past two decades.
• 3:12
  What we eat and ingest determines our health.
• 3:16
  It's a stubborn fact that we don't like to acknowledge.
• 3:19
  Every year as we age, our metabolism slows down.
• 3:21
  We just can't eat like we did when we were 20.
• 3:25
  So where does all of this possibly fall in our lodge setting to each his own, stay out of my business, don't tell me what to do, or are we missing a key opportunity to be there for each other when it comes to overall health issues or challenges, addiction, alcoholism, depression, the physical issues that creep up as early as our late twenties or early thirties.
• 3:51
  What are we doing amongst ourselves to promote a healthier way of living?
• 3:55
  Making good choices, acknowledging our age, we all reach a point in life where we can no longer give it hell and give it well like we did in our 20s and 30s.
• 4:06
  Now the goal of this is not to judge or lecture each other, it's about being there for one another.
• 4:12
  Our brotherhood has us committed to help, and we are committed to doing just that.
• 4:15
  Aid and assist each other on all fronts of life and yet when it comes to diets exercise Adjusting our lifestyles to our age our overall health.
• 4:26
  Well, we just sort of coast It can be ambivalence at its best Well, which brings us to our guest today.
• 4:33
  I am so pleased to be joined by john gann arun nadarajan and hans nice Three masonic brothers and longtime friends who are passionate about health Wellness Making good choices and kick starting this dialogue at the lodge level.
• 4:49
  Welcome brothers.
• 4:50
  Thank you.
• 4:51
  Thank you.
• 4:51
  Thank you Now, I know the three of you are spearheading an initiative.
• 4:55
  It's very early in the early stages But before we get into some of these things i'd like to hear a little bit more about you Maybe where you grew up your home lodge hans lead the way, please Well, my home lodge is Arcana 187 and, um, the mic, okay.
• 5:11
  Um, and, uh, I had an exposure to obesity and comorbidities for the longest time.
• 5:18
  Uh, professionally, uh, I was engaged in, in, in the medical device industry for well over ten years in this particular field.
• 5:26
  And I saw what obesity does to the body.
• 5:30
  Uh, and not so much the, the, the poundage we are gaining, but the consequences it has in the form of diabetes, high blood pressure, and a lot of other things.
• 5:39
  So, um, ten, twelve years ago, I, I did an initiative, uh, at the Anoka Lodge, uh, where Um, I asked Brethren to kind of reflect on, on the aspect of obesity, so a little bit of education and put them up to a challenge.
• 5:56
  And, uh, we initiated a, a kind of a weight loss program where I sponsored, uh, a initiative where each Brethren, if he, uh, lost a pound of fat.
• 6:09
  He would get 20 pounds or$20 and our 15 or 20 bucks came together and made it happen.
• 6:17
  And, uh, collected well over$4,000 for the lodge.
• 6:21
  So, uh, outstanding.
• 6:23
  But apart from that, it was not just that personal endeavor, uh, but was also a, an awareness that grew.
• 6:31
  And, uh, we will probably talk a little bit more about that, how I connected with Arun in a minute, but I think that's enough for an introduction.
• 6:39
  So that's how I got involved and felt kind of compelled to reinitiate initiative in a broader sense together with the brother and here around the table.
• 6:48
  Awesome.
• 6:48
  Thank you for sharing that.
• 6:49
  And you mentioned Arun, Arun Natarajan, welcome from Cataract Lodge number two.
• 6:53
  Thank you, uh, pleasure to be here, and to be joined with, uh, three people that I absolutely adore.
• 7:01
  Um, yeah, my home lodge is Cataract No.
• 7:04
  2, and, uh, really, you know, masonically we say, uh, things like, uh, our heart and tongue join together in promoting each other's welfare and in rejoicing in each other's prosperity.
• 7:20
  And, uh Along with that are two very popular adages.
• 7:24
  One is health is wealth.
• 7:26
  So that's prosperity.
• 7:28
  And the second is prevention is cure.
• 7:30
  Um, so masonically, I've sort of noticed that we are very good.
• 7:35
  And I don't mean it in a tongue in cheek fashion.
• 7:37
  We really care about people who are sick or people who need assistance.
• 7:42
  But I have observed that we don't really do things proactively.
• 7:47
  Um, and so that's, that's one of the biggest motivations for me to get involved in this kind of an initiative.
• 7:55
  And Cataract, we have recently started a walking group for Brethren.
• 7:59
  Anybody's, all are welcome.
• 8:01
  Families, kids, dogs, everyone is welcome.
• 8:05
  Cataract, as you know, is located in Richfield.
• 8:09
  very close to Lake Nokomis.
• 8:11
  So we meet the first and third Saturdays of every month and we go around Nokomis which is about a 2.
• 8:18
  7 to three mile kind of a walk.
• 8:21
  And in winter times our plan is to take it to the mall of America so we can walk inside there.
• 8:27
  And so really that's, uh, that's the biggest motive on a personal front.
• 8:32
  Uh, the reason for, uh, making good choices is that, uh, You know, I've been married to my wife for 25 years and for as long back as I can remember she has been a type 2 diabetes, uh, patient.
• 8:48
  And it was about 5 years ago that she made a complete change in her dietary choices and completely reversed type 2 diabetes.
• 8:58
  Really?
• 8:59
  And she is completely free of type 2 diabetes now and that is largely because of paying attention to what she ate and Taking care of, uh, doing things like moderate exercise.
• 9:11
  I mean, she does not want to run a marathon, but she also She doesn't follow you out there.
• 9:15
  No.
• 9:16
  Yeah, I don't blame her.
• 9:17
  So those were personal inspirations and also, uh things I would like to Sort of work with my masonic brothers to see if they would be interested in making such choices, too Excellent last but not least welcome brother.
• 9:32
  John gann.
• 9:33
  Yeah.
• 9:33
  Thank you reed It's wonderful to be here and to be working on this initiative with All the fine brothers here and, uh, to bring out some element to the brothers of Freemasonry that, uh, perhaps, uh, they could add to their lives and to their overall life journey.
• 9:50
  So, I grew up in Minnesota.
• 9:52
  I'm a legacy.
• 9:53
  My dad was a 50 year Mason.
• 9:55
  My three uncles all were 50 year Masons.
• 9:58
  And, uh, Uh, I have very fond memories of, uh, growing up in a Masonic environment, primarily the Shrine, which, where my dad was the most active, and almost to the day he died, he was a very active man, fundraising and setting up clinics and all kinds of different things, uh, principally through the Shrine, but out in the community.
• 10:21
  So, when I think of the giants of Freemasonry, I think of my dad, the The man lived the walk, you know, with lived the talk.
• 10:29
  He walked the talk.
• 10:30
  So, um, and, uh, you know, growing up in Minnesota, I went to school at the University of Minnesota.
• 10:37
  I worked for GE and moved around the country and it was and I was going to graduate school at night and it was when I, GE moved me back to Minnesota from St.
• 10:47
  Louis that my dad took note of the fact that I couldn't do night school for a little while and he, uh, Gently very gently suggested that now might be a good time to become a Freemason which I did.
• 11:00
  And I told the guys that I you know I was going to be going back to night school And you know so I probably wouldn't be active But I tell you I was so impressed by the ritual work and in particular by the middle chamber lecture.
• 11:14
  Like I could not believe that somebody could do that from memory.
• 11:18
  That even while going to school I started to do a little bit of ritual work And that was my entree back into the Lodge when my schedule opened up on the, you know, sort of the health front in, uh, you know, as my, as I began to realize that it being a professional football player wasn't going to be my future professional hockey player went to the wayside and professional baseball wasn't going to happen.
• 11:42
  And yet I thought of myself as an athlete, so I took it on my own to keep working out.
• 11:49
  You know, to go to the gym, to do the run or the walk.
• 11:52
  I did martial arts for many, many years.
• 11:55
  And I, uh, those habits have served me very well over the many, many years.
• 12:01
  I used to have ailments as, uh, as a kid or as a young adult, lower back pain, knee pain, things like that.
• 12:09
  I haven't had that in 15 years.
• 12:10
  So the irony is that as I've gotten older, I've been, I've had less pain and feel better.
• 12:17
  And so, that's part of my rationale and joy of trying to bring that to other people.
• 12:24
  And, and, um, yeah, I'm just super happy about where this can go with the Brothers of Minnesota.
• 12:31
  Well, and I think we've all touched on, to an extent, that this is not about shaming someone for choices that one makes.
• 12:41
  And nobody's telling the truth.
• 12:43
  We're trying to infer that you can't have a little of this or that, but how are we setting ourselves up for, in the short term, feeling good tomorrow, but long term, acknowledging our age, our limitations, and then we can even skip the old guy jokes, but our metabolisms are slowing at all times.
• 13:05
  I had an older brother who was a, uh, past master of Wayzata Lodge 205.
• 13:10
  He passed away in 2016, but he lived to be in his 90s and his saying was, when you rest, you rust.
• 13:18
  He didn't coin that, but he was just this active guy that never slowed down to the point of of giving up, basically, and there's so many different paths we could go with this topic.
• 13:31
  But to Arun's earlier point and Hans as well, how do we start or where do we begin in encouraging our brothers in a, in a way that in a place that comes from, we care, we love our brothers.
• 13:45
  And, well, to your point that we, We want to ensure that we are helping each other make good choices or ask for help in certain aspects because we all want to be around for a good long time.
• 13:59
  So, uh, let me, let me clarify while our.
• 14:03
  Age does kind of have an influence on your metabolism.
• 14:08
  It is by and large, uh, what's going in.
• 14:11
  Uh, and so our weight gain is primarily, um, dictated by the types of food and the amount of food that we're eating.
• 14:22
  And as a matter of fact, weight loss, if you look at on the, on the, on the, on the, The outgoing side weight loss is by and large induced by 70 percent what you not eat and 30 percent how you exercise.
• 14:35
  So that's why, uh, we collectively as we sit around the table, uh, realized that, uh, as you look around in the lodge, uh, there is a fair amount of work to be done.
• 14:46
  Right.
• 14:47
  So we see brethren that are marginally mobile or that, uh, feed themselves in a way that is probably not the most supportive, uh, uh, given their overall health.
• 15:01
  So that's why we, in our early stages of planning, contemplated this has to be a multifaceted approach.
• 15:09
  Right.
• 15:09
  For one thing.
• 15:10
  Any form of transformation is driven by a fundamental understanding of what's going on.
• 15:16
  And I think it's fair to say that, uh, the general population, uh, including the Masons, obviously, uh, might have a marginal understanding what that burger, what that, uh, that kind of a dish dust to you, uh, in the long run.
• 15:29
  I'm not talking about the occasional spill and kind of a splash, but, uh, if you fundamentally re keep repeating that, the body will start responding.
• 15:39
  And that's one thing that I do want to kind of stress is that our bodies are incredibly efficient in converting food into stored energy.
• 15:52
  In the form of fat.
• 15:54
  And we have been doing that for thousands of years.
• 16:00
  With the following exception that over the last 50 or 100 years, food was now available in abundance.
• 16:06
  Prior to that, you didn't know where your next meal was coming from.
• 16:09
  So, hence, genetically we have kind of, uh, developed into that particular direction.
• 16:14
  With that abundance of food, and the excess storage, We are exposing our organs and our bodily functions to a, a paradigm it has never, had never to deal with.
• 16:27
  And hence, I mean, Arun gave this example of his, his wife, but in the literature, if you look at the, the, the biomedical literature, that, uh, Up to 80 percent of type 2 diabetes patients, if they lose the weight, if they drop from a BMI of, uh, 35 to 27 or the like, their type 2 diabetes completely disappears, including blood pressure, high blood pressure, et cetera.
• 16:54
  So it is not just kind of a, uh, the various initiative by contemplating what you're eating, But also, mobilizing these fat stores by various means.
• 17:08
  And we talk about various means.
• 17:11
  We can talk about, it doesn't take a lot of effort, of exercise.
• 17:15
  We talked about the marathon.
• 17:18
  You don't need to run a marathon.
• 17:19
  Even the slightest, uh, well Uh, proportioned exercise by walking, biking, uh, and various other.
• 17:27
  Start small, right?
• 17:28
  Start small.
• 17:29
  Have already a tremendous impact on how you metabolize, how your bodily functions are kicking into gear.
• 17:36
  So that's what we felt we need to look at is from a, from a multifaceted standpoint, educating.
• 17:42
  So what is actually happening when you slam that stuff into your body, right?
• 17:46
  But also means, so, and then the diet, right?
• 17:49
  But also what other means could you deploy to help your body going through that various transformation or that transition towards losing weight and becoming metabolically more responsible or more healthy.
• 18:04
  And you touched on an important point too, that in starting this dialogue, we're not advocating that.
• 18:09
  Hey, six weeks from now, let's go run a marathon together.
• 18:11
  No, this is about slow, sustainable progress, that 1 percent every day, but not underestimating the power and the impact of a walk.
• 18:23
  I see a chiropractor on a regular basis, and he said to me recently that the majority of his clients, his patients, like me, sit at a desk all day.
• 18:31
  He doesn't, he sees very few construction workers, laborers, because they're up, they're moving, their body is where it needs to be, but those of us who sit In a chair, in a, in that spot all day long, I have to see him on a regular, regular cadence.
• 18:47
  And, and I learned something, Varun, about your wife, too, that the diabetic, little changes, activity, little modifications, the diabetes is gone.
• 18:57
  It's amazing.
• 18:57
  Yeah.
• 18:58
  Yep.
• 18:58
  That's absolutely right.
• 18:59
  You know, it's really simple.
• 19:01
  We, this is not a very complicated topic.
• 19:04
  I mean, if I ask a question to you, for example, Reid.
• 19:09
  Uh, would you like to be healthy?
• 19:12
  Yes, please.
• 19:13
  I mean, I'm yet to hear somebody say, No, I want to be unhealthy.
• 19:18
  No, I'm gonna, I'm gonna maintain my level of, uh, not being mobile or feeling terrible.
• 19:24
  Yeah.
• 19:25
  And then that's where the beauty of masonry comes in, is we are all about brotherly love and friendship.
• 19:32
  And, you know, sometimes it's that boop.
• 19:35
  Just as in life is that if, if I look at you and say, Hey, let's go for a walk, maybe that's the motivation you need to go for that walk because you need that initial did, you know, get you off the inertia, so to speak, and I think masonry can come in really handy in that and to Hans's point is that, you know, I read a quote recently and I'm going to read it.
• 20:00
  It says we do not stop exercising.
• 20:03
  Because we grow old, we grow old because we stop exercising.
• 20:08
  Isn't that true?
• 20:09
  Yeah.
• 20:10
  Yeah, and that's a great segue into a point that I wanted to make, which is that idea of looking back and thanking your past self for the decisions that you made.
• 20:21
  For where you are how what what can you do today so that in five years you can look back and say thank you For making those choices that you did and T and read I really appreciate when you teed this up and that we've all commented on that.
• 20:35
  You know, this is progress not perfection What are the steps that we can take today?
• 20:40
  to round out the whole individual so that our ourselves in five and 10 years will thank us today for what we've done, you know, and, uh, Aroon mentioned about the fraternity, that we are about caring about each other.
• 20:55
  And this is just one element of that.
• 20:57
  You know, as a fraternity, we do an excellent job of, Growing the mind and the spirit, you know, you think about all of the lodge education that we do Libraries full of books the middle chamber lectures.
• 21:10
  There's a lot of intellectual opportunities for growth.
• 21:13
  And of course, there's enormous opportunities for spiritual development So if we think of this as just another element of us The other comment, Reid, that I want to make that I really appreciate when you teed this up was introducing the topics of addiction and mental health and it's something that we have talked about that they're related these all these elements are related to the whole person and that by pursuing a life that has perhaps just a bit more healthy that you're going to be impacting those other elements of your And of course, many of the listeners will remember the work that the Grand Lodge has done with Face a Foundation.
• 21:59
  And it's a Minnesota, uh, organization that focuses exclusively on men's mental health.
• 22:07
  And so as we talk about what, Um, I, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we were able, able to wrap in a very strong mental health element to it as well.
• 22:20
  I'm glad you brought that up because the subject or the bigger, the bigger tent of this is not just diet and exercise, it's mental health.
• 22:32
  It's a lot of things.
• 22:34
  This is something maybe why I harp on the relationship building.
• 22:37
  I've been in the lodge so much because I've run into, and I was one of these, I was one of the people I'm about to describe.
• 22:45
  I'm in a lodge setting, certainly around guys I know pretty well, but not that well.
• 22:51
  Maybe not well enough to where I could say, you know what, I'm really battling something and I need to talk to someone.
• 22:56
  I need, I could use a resource.
• 22:58
  The goal of all of this being that we are enabling or encouraging our members to utilize.
• 23:06
  The resources that are out there and face it foundation being being one of them.
• 23:10
  There's So much to the health initiative that also gets into what you mentioned john depression addiction a functional alcoholic that was me and When I share that with people that while you weren't that bad and they well you don't have to be at the level of nicholas cage and leaving las vegas in order to have a problem and With the help of inspiration of you john and many other brothers that may be listening to this That was a, an encouragement.
• 23:38
  It was an invitation.
• 23:39
  It was a, how would you like to feel better?
• 23:42
  It wasn't a, you need to stop doing this, this, and this in order to, no, I had that realization.
• 23:48
  And if I ever sound preachy about sobriety and the clear headedness, it's because I feel so much better.
• 23:54
  It took me to make a decision on my own to realize that it was the cause and effect that putting a carcinogen.
• 24:04
  Alcohol into my body every day was negatively affecting my mental clarity, sleep quality, temperament, the list goes on and on and on.
• 24:15
  And part of why I get passionate about this is because, just like I said, simply, I feel so good.
• 24:21
  I can't imagine going backwards now.
• 24:24
  And what else can we do in, within our own lodges and with our friend circles, even outside of the lodge, to just Just encourage and extend that invitation and share some of these resources on the benefits of making small modifications.
• 24:45
  Well, let me go into just a little bit of background to what we've been working on and we'll segue into that.
• 24:50
  So, you know, for the last off and on for the last half dozen or so years, I, uh, being aficionado of the, uh, mud runs or, uh, obstacle runs.
• 25:00
  And, uh, at some point, Arun found out about that and I would enlist.
• 25:06
  Brothers that I knew that might be interested in it and, um, encourage them to join me.
• 25:10
  And, and, you know, some were athletes and did it for that reason.
• 25:14
  Others, I really encourage, you know, if, if you just want it as a bucket list item here, do it in a safe space.
• 25:19
  We'll, we're just gonna do this and have some fun.
• 25:22
  And, um, you know, we was able to get a number of brothers to do that.
• 25:26
  Arun found out about it and, and bless his heart, gave me a call and said, you know, let's.
• 25:32
  Let's talk about health and how can we bring this to Freemasonry?
• 25:35
  And he has a, a real passion about it as well.
• 25:38
  And so he and I had a number of conversations and at that point he found out about some of the work that Hans had done.
• 25:44
  And uh, that's going to be a separate podcast all by itself because Hans is only touched on it, but has some really interesting work done on it.
• 25:55
  In the area of food and nutrition and its impact on the body So we're at very early stages of exploring this but we invite the listeners here who maybe have an interest In their in health and in bringing health to Freemasonry to reach out to one of us and join in the conversation with us and How can we structure?
• 26:18
  different resources communications out to the brothers so that You They can start on a journey of, of progress, not necessarily perfection.
• 26:27
  Yeah, John, and I want to echo this, that it is really a, a team effort, and, uh, Reid, you give this example that you had an acknowledgement of your, your particular idiosyncrasy, uh, but it took, uh, the broader, it took people around you, To break that paradigm right to break through that ceiling And I think I want to stress that both john and arun touched on this is that Doing that all by yourself is a monstrous task.
• 26:57
  It's nearly impossible some Succeed the vast majority not but doing this in a with a group of brethren That group drive and that connectivity You Is so enabling that it doesn't take a lot And it's fun too.
• 27:17
  I mean you go out with your broader and you not just going out to either do some gym exercise or some walking or some biking or any other facilities You do this because during that activities you also, also interact.
• 27:32
  And I think that's one of the key Mark of them egg.
• 27:35
  We do interact.
• 27:36
  Unfortunately quite often we do it over all because of fruit.
• 27:40
  very much.
• 27:40
  Right, but I think there are alternatives you can go out and do something fun either a walk or It doesn't matter.
• 27:47
  Uh, and I think that's where we're looking for initiatives from listeners from other brethren Is it what other ideas could you come up with that have this kind of a come together that pulling together?
• 28:00
  And still have that social interactive element in there that is so important for each of us to continue on that path because it's sometimes it's hard, you don't have the time, you don't have the initiative, but connecting with brother and that additional incentive that will drive you and become a permanent part of that momentum and inertia is essential.
• 28:23
  So really that that element I wouldn't like to stress are that's a great point and also the.
• 28:29
  A lot of the events have to do with food a lot of them have to do with alcohol and and that's okay And then I'm not by any means advocating that we completely change our social calendar, but perhaps to your point Become a little more well rounded in what we we we have a table lodge and there will still let occasional cigar Okay, fine, but how can we?
• 28:51
  broaden our list of activities together, a little more healthy, perhaps a little more community engagement focused.
• 28:58
  And that, this, a lot of this is based on feedback I've received from existing masons or new brothers as well that are seeking to get out and do a few more activities that aren't quite so one dimensional.
• 29:12
  Yeah, you know, and your statement there, Reed, is, uh, brings to mind the rough ashlar and the perfect ashlar.
• 29:17
  We're talking about all of us being rough ashlars, and maybe there are a few areas that we would, we, we're going to choose to smooth out.
• 29:25
  And as we've all stated, but Arun brought up initially is this idea of, can we do it together and support each other and, you know, um, make the experience of becoming more healthy and enjoyable.
• 29:38
  Uh, part of our lives on that rough Ashler comparison that we are chipping away a little bit every day, which applies to everything we're discussing today.
• 29:48
  That if I do someday join you on that tough mutter, it'll be a slow, steady, incremental preparation process, not just going into it.
• 29:59
  And I know you'll, I expect you to tease me a little bit if I completely.
• 30:03
  Don't do well at it, but you're going to encourage me along the way to it.
• 30:06
  And that's, that's the point of this too.
• 30:08
  No, I would mock you incessantly, but that's, I don't believe that's your point, but, uh, but you know, you do bring up an important point in my mind, which is.
• 30:16
  You know, perhaps I've planted, we, I'm sorry, we collectively have planted the seed of, of good health into somebody's mind.
• 30:23
  So something like, you mentioned the Tough Mudder, and I had mentioned, you know, maybe that's a bucket list item, or maybe it's never been a bucket list item, but now that you've got this seed in your mind of, maybe someday I could do something like that, and maybe through the work that we do, You're invited to and you know what you choose to bite off that I'm going to do it just this once if it's a terrible experience, I'll never do it again, but I'm going to give it a shot or something that Hans has mentioned about diet that you know what?
• 30:54
  Maybe there is something I can do starting now starting tomorrow to improve my diet.
• 31:01
  Maybe some seed gets planted in the mind of somebody out there.
• 31:05
  To make some step that they wouldn't otherwise make and they don't have to do it alone.
• 31:10
  Yes.
• 31:10
  I don't think that is really a key Element in here and a central theme in there that you don't have to do this alone Because brethren are there the lodge is there the craft is there and I think that's ultimately the goal that we're striving for Or at least one of them is that to provide an infrastructure that enables this very same collective effort You Well, and I think another thing to bring up is to be open to something new, to be open to a new viewpoint.
• 31:41
  I know that there is a strong internal culture amongst Freemasons that every, most are card carrying carnivore and we meet a vegetarian, we meet a vegan and we, Oh my God, what's wrong with you or how could you, but the world has changed a bit.
• 32:01
  I know of many vegans or, or people taking an interest in that because their, their health requires them to do that.
• 32:08
  It's not a, uh, um, a statement maker so much as it is for someone's health.
• 32:14
  And that's some feedback I've had in my role with membership.
• 32:18
  That's turning off members to attend events.
• 32:22
  The food options are very limited.
• 32:24
  It's a one dimensional menu, which is an ongoing challenge.
• 32:27
  And then add to that.
• 32:28
  Somebody who speaks up and says I have a dietary need or restriction gets I guess there's a fine line between the jokey banter that we all defer to and when we can And a subliminal message Right, and can we be kind to one another and say okay, well Maybe one person is the prime rib card carrying carnivore and the other just, you know what, be cool with that Let's just leave that alone.
• 32:52
  Can we do that?
• 32:53
  I don't know You mentioned the world is changing, and, uh, you're absolutely right.
• 32:59
  Um, I am an avid motorcyclist, as perhaps a few brothers know, and along with, uh, the Masonic, uh, my fellow Masons who are also riding motorcycles, I have traveled across Minnesota, uh, let's just say the last three years, to small towns in the middle of nowhere, and we stopped for lunch.
• 33:23
  And, uh, I could tell ya, 15 years ago, um, you had to be a card cutting counter to use your, uh, phrase.
• 33:31
  But today, you can go to a small town in the northernmost part of Minnesota, and you will get a healthy option for food.
• 33:39
  Glad to hear that.
• 33:40
  And, uh, so that is the same type of a change that, uh, John and, uh, Hans are talking about.
• 33:48
  That's why not we bring that to masonry.
• 33:52
  I'm really looking forward to reconvening in six months or at some point in 2025 and see where all of these ideas land in individual lodge settings or in The different districts because I really think we're on to something here of an encouragement and based in the tenets of Freemasonry looking out for one another, caring for one another.
• 34:16
  Another way in which we can convey to a brother.
• 34:19
  You are loved and wanted and needed in this lodge setting.
• 34:24
  And if you need help or resources on any front of health, mental health, addiction in its many forms, diet, exercise.
• 34:34
  We're doing this and encouraging this amongst all, because for the longevity and the, the sustainability of our members, the, and the quality of their life.
• 34:45
  Yeah.
• 34:45
  And, and this is not something new.
• 34:47
  Uh, even the Romans had already figured that out.
• 34:49
  Menzana in corpora sano and healthy mind in a healthy, I'm sorry, healthy spirit in a healthy body.
• 34:56
  That's really, that's where, that's what it's all about.
• 35:00
  Well, guys, thank you all for being guests today.
• 35:03
  I think we've, like I've said, we've really touched on some aspects that will really look towards the coming months and coming years in how we can better further this in a collaborative sense and of supporting in and showing that support to our, our friends and brothers and, and their families.
• 35:21
  Arun, John, Hans, thanks for being on Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries.
• 35:26
  Thank you.
• 35:27
  Reed.