January 30, 2022

We have all been graced by specially kind, generous and compassionate acts of strangers; acts with an everyday holiness which delight, calm, move, and gratify us.  May those acts inspire us as we make our way in the world.

January 16, 2022

One thing that Quakers share is the belief that there is “that of God” in every person.  But every person of a certain age who is in good health has the capacity to perceive the world around them, to discern their options, to make decisions, and to act in gracious and loving ways.

What, really, is the difference?

Isn’t a holy spirit standard equipment, so to speak, within human beings?

Does one have to do anything to have holiness within?  I don’t think so.

What matters is belief and choice and, perhaps always, grace.  Once one is exposed to the idea that there is holiness within oneself and everyone else, one can only reject the idea, ignore it – or accept it and, moment to moment, forget it or embrace it and do one’s best to live accordingly.

December 19, 2021

As the day approaches when we and many, many, many other people celebrate, and thank God for, the birth and life of Jesus Christ, let us be mindful of all we have in common with Jesus.  

We are all human. 

We all have, as He had, a part of the Holy Spirit within us; a connection to the divine.

And we all have a yearning, and the lifelong ability, to grow in wisdom, love, and service.

Human creativity and responsibility

Humans imagine.

So what?  Dogs, at least, and likely other animals have dreams and I guess those dreams include experiences involving imagined situations and things. Maybe dogs dream about people just as people dream about dogs.  And perhaps many animals, at least as part of their danger detection instinct, also consciously imagine things that are not actually there. 

But humans also create.  What creatures other than humans consciously imagine fulfilling moments and entire lives in something as complex as human society and do their best to create those moments and lives?  What other creatures consciously, intentionally, and at length imagine and create from what is imagined, such as composing music, lyrics or poetry, choreographing a dance, painting an entirely imaginary scene, writing stories or producing movies about imagined events involving imagined creatures and machines in imagined worlds, or inventing the wheel, engines, light bulbs, airplanes, prosthetic devices, computers or the Internet?  Is there any other animal which, like many humans, sees few limits to what can be accomplished through imagination, experimentation, diligence, perseverance and cooperation?

Whether or not one believes God is the original, eternal and all-powerful Creator, isn't there something akin to God, an agency of Creation, in every human being?  And, if so, isn't there also individual responsibility to other people and species and the planet which is our home?

October 31, 2021

Holy Spirit — are You there?

“What does your experience tell you?”

My experience tells me that You are there; that You are present.  But You appear not to be there in the experience of many people.

“I am there for — I am within — every person. But everyone is unique and some people do not experience my presence.  That’s all right.  I love them, too, and provide grace where I can.”

Are You always there for every person?

“Yes.  And I will be with you as part of your spirit through your last breaths and when your spirit departs your body.  And what would make you think I would leave you after that?”

Stewardship of one's body

Stewardship of one's body is an essential responsibility accompanying the gift of life.  Listening to one's body and doing one's best to discern and provide what it needs is part of that responsibility.

Without breath and circulating blood, the human body is inanimate flesh.  With them, the body is both puppet and partner of an individual's personality, intellect, and spirit.  While we have the gift of life, your body and mine are like our spirits' Charlie McCarthy marionettes in that they do our bidding as best we have trained them to do and they bear our mistreatment and neglect.  But our bodies are, and deserve, much more: our consciousness, intellect and spirit depend on our bodies for all physical senses of perception, all physical pleasures, every action in the physical world, and all spiritual growth, fulfillment and pleasures in this life.

Reality check #17 (Loving how I feel)

Whenever I love how I feel - when I feel that at that moment everything is all right just the way it is - I get the experience of heaven.

When do I most often love how I feel?

In whose presence, or in contemplation of whom, do I love how I feel?  

What is it about those people that evokes this reaction; that causes me to love how I feel when I think of them, and especially when I am with them?

How can I more frequently discover, or create within myself, the circumstances in which I love how I feel?

What attitudes, judgments, and conduct must I avoid lest I spoil the experience of simply loving how I feel?