Scouting's Changes

A ton has changed in Scouting over the years, you can't hide that. There is an old adage that the only constant is change. I am a progressive-minded individual, which may surprise some people. This isn't to say that I align politically with those that call themselves progressive in today's climate, but more that I am not someone who is concerned with maintaining the status quo. Think progressive in the way Theodore Roosevelt was progressive. Because the only constant is change I believe we must be at the vanguard of that change to survive. We teach in Wood Badge that we must embrace and lead change, so why don't we take that mentality in the overall organization? At the same time, change for the sake of change is never the best approach. There must be a good reason to make the change and to change the specific thing. 

One thing that has remained for Scouting is the mission: To prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Now, this may not have always been the mission; I don't know the history of it to really say that it has remained unchanged from 1910 to now, but it has always been true that instilling these values is the real purpose of Scouting, not just tying knots and building fires. The way I see it is that the changes the BSA has undergone in the past decade or so have been with an eye towards that mission. We have been making changes that embrace those values and open up these opportunities to more youth in America. So why the resistance? 

Change is a difficult thing. There are a lot of organizations out there that are conservative in nature. Again, not politically, but just that they don't try to keep up with modern society. We have been seeing it for decades as the membership in civic and social organizations has been steadily declining and the average age of their membership has increased. These organizations have a value in modern society, but they haven't adjusted to meet the times. Scouting is at least trying. 

Sometimes those changes aren't the best decisions. I think about the ill-advised new uniform shirt just released in the Scout Shop. At the same time, some of them are thoroughly thought out and well planned, like the newly released Cub Scout program that starts on June 1st. That will make things so much simpler for our smaller packs and lower the barrier to entry for the parents to get involved in volunteer roles. 

Whatever may come, I hope to be a part of the changes occurring. I hope to help modernize Scouting by leading the change in my council. I hope to help modernize both Freemasonry and the SAR by drawing in younger members with things they want to see. At the same time, we hold onto our core values and mission. 

Anyway, this was mostly just a stream of consciousness for the morning. I figured it would work well for some Tuesday Thoughts. 

First Masonic Monday

So, I am a part of several fraternal organizations. One of them is Freemasonry. Specifically, I am in a subordinate lodge of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I was Raised in January of 2023, so I am a relatively new Mason but I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience so far. 

I figured I would share some things about Freemasonry on this blog to demystify some things and also talk about some of the reasons I am involved in the organization. I actually have a post from when I was Raised from earlier in this blog where I touched on this a little bit. Since then, a lot has happened for me both in Scouting and in Freemasonry. 

One thing of note is how much the National Jamboree really made me want to work to improve these ties between our organizations. Both Freemasonry and Scouting have seen declines in recent years tied to an overall decline in civic and fraternal organization memberships. With so many shared values and history between the two, I have been working to strengthen those ties. In Virginia, at least, every meeting should involved some sort of program. This can be Masonic education, something from an outside organization, or really anything the Worshipful Master would like. So, with that in mind, I created a program around the connections of Freemasonry and Scouting and offer it to other lodges. I go, in uniform, and present this to them.

I also created a trifold brochure directed as Masonic Brothers outlining the connections and encouraging participation and/or support of Scouting. This brochure is being used by the National Association of Masonic Scouters, now, as a way to spread awareness. 

The last thing I did recently was wrote something called a "Short Talk Bulletin." This is something put out by a group called the Masonic Service Association and is used all over the country by lodges to supplement their programs. I wrote an article and also recorded a podcast where I read the information. This is all hosted on the NAMS website as well. 

Both of the organizations mean a lot to me and trying to bring them closer together is something I think will be an important thing for me for a long time to come.

Getting Older Is No Fun

 I haven't been to the gym in a few days. Not by choice, mind you, but because on Thursday my sciatic nerve decided to let me know it was there. I was going for a run in the JMU Arboretum around lunch time when I started to get a pain in my lower back and the backs of my thighs while I was running up a hill. I had to walk a little bit, then tried running again once the pain subsided some and it just came right back. So, I ended my run at this point and walked out the rest of my time. 

Me dying in the Arboretum as I walk for a bit,
though my face doesn't quite display the pain. 

Unfortunately, I did not do all of the things at that moment that would have probably been best for me, but I did try to take it easy the rest of the day after a hot shower. That night the pain became so bad that it woke me up at 2 am. Well, that morning was supposed to start off in the gym with some trap bar deadlifts. That isn't happening when you are dealing with lower back and thigh pain. So, I alerted my coach and said "hey, I'm taking it easy, walking and yoga for now and will continue to monitor."

So I went for a walk around my area for a little over two miles. I felt decent while walking, but when I had to jog across a street the pain just shot up my legs into my back. When I got home I did some digging and discovered what I had suspected, that it was most likely sciatica. So, I told my coach, we agreed to make the coming week a recovery/yoga week, and reassess as we go on. So, here I am, sitting in the living room when I am usually lifting heavy things and putting them down. I don't do idle well, but that I am now being treated for my ADHD (another story I will get into later) I am doing much better than I would have. 

Moving forward, I am going to try to make Sunday an update day for this blog where I talk about how my fitness journey is going. I use a Garmin watch and the Connect app they have (I am a proud League of Garmin member!) so I have all sorts of fun data. But let's look at weight for right now. 

Those are my daily weigh-ins for this week. Now, you can see that I relapsed a bit during this past year when you look at this graph. 

This is one of those times when I would tell anyone who thinks having weight loss surgery is the "easy way out" or the "lay way" that they are very much misinformed. This is a process and WLS is a tool, nothing more. It certainly helps that I can only eat a fraction of what I once could. The idea of going to a Chinese buffet and housing three plates while drinking three or four glasses of water is non-existent today. I ate 3 oz. of chicken, a half-cup of broccoli, and 3.8 oz of rice (half of a Bibigo rice bowl) and I was uncomfortably full for a good 45 minutes afterwards. I track everything I eat (most of the time) and I am putting in the work in the gym and on the track (or the trails, or streets) as well. It is a never-ending process.

Anyway, the weight gain is because the "bers" got me good, and it's because I was cocky about it. I came into it thinking "nah, I am fine during the fall, I love this season, it won't get me" even though my coach was warning the whole group about it. I was wrong, and now I have to make up for that. I need to get back to where I was and I am taking the steps I need to, figuratively and literally. 

April Fools!

 Yeah, I was fooling myself before that I would be more regular about posting. After my wife reminded me of the blog the other day, in between giving me a hard time about things that I absolutely deserved a hard time for, I decided to finally make a post. 

Things have been a little up and down, specifically my weight, but I am working to get back on track. My biggest problem is my impulsive behaviors which, another bit of news, likely stem from my ADHD which I have been officially diagnosed with. So, hopefully I will be getting some tools to help with that as well. 

The countdown is also on to a 5k fundraiser this fall for my council and I have been challenged to run it. I have spent 38 years with the mentality that running is for escaping danger, nothing else. So now running has become a part of my training regimen. 

Anyway, those are some brief updates for now. Hopefully I will remember to post some more updates, soon. Lots has been going on that I need to share, but for right now I am just going to post this brief update.