My Masonic ring weighs 8 grams, according to my kitchen scale, but of course this tidbit of information is only interesting to the most obsessive jewelers among you, and “weight” in this instance is yet another symbol, because the true weight of my ring is unbearably heavy for a man to maintain by himself.
![a rite from the stars review a rite from the stars review](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/1cbf4ffd-6043-407e-8fb4-b54b89b8a510_1.8b619746289134f1a90b4499a537cc52.jpeg)
I believe I would have, because the opportunity cost is far outweighed by the benefits that came from it, however I must admit that if the fraternity had been pitched to me in that way I would have definitely paused a bit longer before signing my name.Įven more noteworthy than the cost of my ring is its weight. When I first bought this ring, if I had known the cost that came with it, would I have still purchased it? Since the ring is just a symbol, a reminder to me of my obligation, I suppose the question would be better worded thusly: when I first signed my petition, if I had known the cost that came with it, would I still have petitioned? Without exaggerating, it literally cost my old identity, who had to die to make room for who I am becoming. It has forced me to re-examine who I am, and to make changes for who I hope to be one day. It’s cost me biting my tongue when some idiot at the grocery store is annoying me, because if I said what I wanted to everybody would know that it was a Freemason who said it. It has cost me thousands of hours spent studying ritual work when I would have much rather been rotting my brain with television. My ring has obviously cost me many evenings away from my family. Over the years, my ring has cost me quite a lot in dues payments to different lodges and other bodies.
![a rite from the stars review a rite from the stars review](https://i.etsystatic.com/5501727/r/il/558b01/2818750839/il_1140xN.2818750839_pvnh.jpg)
![a rite from the stars review a rite from the stars review](https://i.etsystatic.com/22779904/r/il/d079e6/2432828737/il_794xN.2432828737_2hc9.jpg)
Of course, it’s easy to give a dollar amount to my ring (it wasn’t very expensive, but in case my wife is reading I’m not going to admit exactly how much), but it has cost me much more than just the money I spent on the afternoon I bought it. The easiest example is buying a cup of coffee: the opportunity cost is the money you pay to receive that life-giving goodness. This evening, I had the pleasure of editing a paper for fellow Midnight Freemason Bill Hosler, which discussed the history of his Masonic ring, and it got me thinking about my own ring, and the cost associated with it.Įverything in life has what economists call an opportunity cost that is, what is given up for what you receive.