How has Odd Fellowship Changed You?
Some members entered Odd Fellowship with Odd Fellow’s values already firmly intact. I hope that statement did not cause a collective gasp, because I’m about to wade in further into that idea.
It’s unlikely that someone was drawn to Odd Fellowship because they had no concept of Friendship, Love, and Truth, community, or sharing – and simply wanted to celebrate those values for the very first time.
I’d dare say that many came to Odd Fellowship because they already valued Friendship, Love, and Truth, fellowship, community and sharing, and wanted to be part of a family that normalizes these values, and holds the members more accountable to them.
Even though some of us may have entered Odd Fellowship with ready minds and matching values. Odd Fellowship still has the power to change us as we continue our journey as members. How it changes us, and how much, is largely up to us!
For me, Odd Fellowship is a more potent daily reminder to
- Help others even when it is not convenient, or when my efforts seem like only a drop in the bucket.
- To remember how often a small kindness makes a big difference.
- To create a reliable experience for others, in a world that is not always reliable.
- To know that there is always a new skill or idea to learn, and always someone to learn it from.
- To connect, to create, and to live like my days are numbered (because they are).
- And to maintain a positive name, and create a positive legacy.
All of the above are things that I already valued and believed in before I was made an Odd Fellow. But knowing I am now part of a specific community that values those same things, brings their importance to the forefront of my daily life. That same community also gives me renewed hope and motivation around how worthwhile it truly is to uphold those values, more earnestly, and more consistently. The more we do any positive thing with consistency, the more we grow.
As I continue my Odd Fellows journey, which challenges me to grow, I remember a beautiful feature of Odd Fellowship at its best. That feature is that it gives me the freedom to show up in the world, and to demonstrate those positive values in my own way, which may sometimes look different from yours. As a more experienced brother at my lodge is known to say, “Odd Fellows means that we are diverse people” in positive fellowship with one another.
How has Odd Fellowship changed you?
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