Mountain Rose Pronaos Master's Message

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." – Buddha

“For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received.”– Margaret Storm Jameson

Greetings from the East!

My dear Sorores and Fratres, concerning the prospect of becoming master of the pronaos, in the spring I wrote of the unpredictability of the world. In the few months since then, that world has plunged into the viral pandemic and my own world into sorrow from the unexpected transition of my beloved wife. Although as incarnate humans we may be forced to drink full measure from the cup of woe, as mystics we must make the effort to transmute that dreadful draught into something positive, even as bitter herbs may in fact heal.

We have so much to be grateful for compared to the world of the last great pandemic a century ago in 1918. For one, medicine is so much more advanced, with so many more treatment options, and with the technology to systematically pursue a vaccine or a cure. Also, though we may need to be physically distant from loved ones, many of us can stay close by voice and video. I do not mention these things to ignore the bad things that are happening, nor that they are not equally distributed, but to remind us to keep looking for the good that we do have and to keep our compassion towards those who are most affected.

I hope we may seen each other soon.

Wishing you all Peace Profound,

William Fickas, FRC Master Rocky Mountain Pronaos