The original use of queries was to facilitate communication between Meetings (congregations) that were geographically separate. The whole Meeting would consider and respond to a single query at a time. The first concerned how many in Meeting had died, had joined the Meeting and had been imprisoned for their religious views and practice.
Over time, queries have come to be used, both by Meetings and by individuals, as a continuing exploration of our faith and its practice.
Lately, my focus has been on queries related to simplicity and the right sharing of resources. They have helped me work on nurturing my relationship with my partner, donating a portion of my work (I have my own business), reducing my personal possessions and sharing my excess with people in need, and limiting my commitments to those I can fulfill with attention to quality and completeness.
As I've focused on these queries, I've also done other reading on simplicity. One book "Taking Control of Your Time and Life" has you consider whether you are prepared to commit at least five minutes in the coming week to taking action towards a goal you have set. If not, then it suggests laying that goal aside for now, and concentrating on those you are willing to act on. This has been a very powerful and useful concept for me.
If you are also interested in simplicity and focus, I hope that you will share your thoughts in response to the query below - adding, in the process, to a community journal.
PLEASE NOTE: The language in this query is in reference to gifts from God. I am a Universalist Quaker - and we respect and accept a variety of sources of spiritual inspiration and guidance. Other Quakers have other traditions - some more explicitly Christian and some evangelical. If you are interested in some of the range of Quaker faith and practice, Russ Nelson's home page and Bill Samuel's home page together will give you a wealth of links to choose from. For the query I've listed here, I hope you will not find the language exclusive - and will respond to it out of your own spiritual Light and basis.
Do we regard our time, talents, energy, money, material possessions and other resources as gifts from God, to be held in trust and shared according to the Light we are given? How do we express this conviction?
Last post on
Sun Apr 24 03:31:36 PDT 2005
THis is a test message to see if the page is working yet!
Congratulations on your home page. It looks really slick. But I can't see the pictures of the dogs. What did you do with them?
Just making sure your page works now...
Enjoyed the page. I am interested in the Queries and how they relate to Friends libraries. I am currently trying to organize our Bethesda Friends Meeting Library around the queries. It is an interesting challenge for the summer.
Beautiful page, Sylvie. I like the query idea. Reminded me again to think on that one.
The issue of simplicity is one that troubles me in many ways. I have a partner whose take is quite different than mine (he is not a Friend.) We live in a simple way, but our physical house and pool and etc. are lovely - his creative work. For me they represent more time and energy in all ways (including money) than I feel like allocating to them. He has done much of the building, all of the maintenance, etc. and we share what we have as much as we can. (Of course I deeply enjoy the beauty of the house and the gardens, too.) How to reconcile two conflicting values? Sometimes I think the old-time Quakers had something when they did not allow marriage out of meeting- but my husband and I do share many values, and have for 31 years - just not this one. I obviously have decided to live with this ambiguity, but sometimes it troubles me.
Great to see your page Sylvie - I'll be back for sure! For me your query on simplicity is an important one, particularly when it comes to the use of time. I try to say yes only to those commitments which I can fulfil - not that I always succeed! Personally too simplicity is about not *worrying* about whether I'm living simply enough or not as simply as others That is a game which I see many Friends playing and it can all too easily take up too much time.
I am struck by Nancy's comments on the tension between simplicity and the fruits of what we consider our creative labors...which is what it seems that her husband creates in their home and garden. For myself, I am increasingly focusing on identifying and exercising my gifts. Being intentional and complete in the work - whether traditional work, or "work" in the home, my interests and hobbies. In being intentional, one of the things that I hope to connect with is the *process* of what I am doing - and the other is the creation of polished and "beautiful" products (even if the product of my labor is a pot of chili!) Is this undue attention? Or is it right attention to a leading I am sent, and focus on the particular variety of gifts I am given in my life? I agree that this is a dilemna.
In a marriage, I think that what is most important in some ways is not that we *share* our partners' gifts and interests, but that we appreciate them and the totality of the person of our partner that those gifts make up.
Nancy's comments speak very much to my condition as well. We live in a beautiful house that is really a fine sculpture by a dear friend of ours ... at times I've thought that the careful restoration of this old house is a gift of keeping alive the past, while nurturing our aesthetic sensibilities. .... but then I look at the resources we have used ...
Simplicity and integrity are really one.
The most helpful words I have heard on this subject were on a sign next to the water spigget at a conference center:
Use what you need. Need what you use. Arthur Fink Portland Maine
Greetings, Sylvie, from the 1996 Friends General Conference Gathering. I have just been set up online by McMaster University.
This connection is for the workshop I'm co-ordinating, "Quaker Publishing on the Internet.
If you are interested in simplicity and right sharing of world resources, please check out the newest issue of Peaceweb, http://www.ottawa.net/~peaceweb/
This issue is on Economics and Justice.
By the way, for an article I'm writing for Peaceweb (and for this workshop) on QUAKER-L, what is your Monthly Meeting? And what city do you live in?
- Carl
d.hindle@ste0402.wins.icl.co.uk (your email address field isn't long enough for me) Regarding "simplicity" - I think this is a misleading idea, I generally find that what people describe as the simple life requires a great deal of hard work, whereas assigning the complex stuff to technology allows us to simplify our approach to things. Computers are the obvious example, but there are many areas where we rely on things we don't understand to provide us with what we want. I'm not saying it's necessarily good or bad, just that there ain't generally such a thing as "simple".
From Edward S. Bell, Ottawa Monthly Meeting, Canadian Yearly Meeting Meeting
I appreciate your work for the Quaker mailing lists and the query on simplicity. It is a concern of mine because there is no way that the whole world can use resources at the rate that we do in the Western World. Somehow we have to simplify our lives and reach a sustainable level for all people. Edward Bell
Dear Sylvie, I have at last got my copy of Netscape to work. I got your address through QW and hope to visit again soon when I can appreciate your efforts better. In sisterhood Jane H
Sylvie - a wonderful web site! As part of my work in Madison, WI for the Family Support and Resouce Center I try to help people with disabilities build connections to the community at large. This includes assisting in the creation and ongoing support of "Circles of Support", i.e. a group of people gathering around the individual to assist in achieving goals, getting through transitions (residential, vocational, family, etc.), or simply expanding their participation in their community. We assist in the training of facilitators and matching them with people who want to develop circles. We provide personal future planning and train people in facilitating it as well. We also provide ongoing support to the facilitatiors. I'd be interested if there are any resources regarding group facilitation techniques, etc. Another aspect of our work is to assist in building and supporting friendships between children with and without disabilities
Regarding your query: Our relationships with others and assisting those who have been excluded are among the most important gifts to share. The simple gift of human connection can be the most valuable.
Sylvie - a wonderful web site! As part of my work in Madison, WI for the Family Support and Resouce Center I try to help people with disabilities build connections to the community at large. This includes assisting in the creation and ongoing support of "Circles of Support", i.e. a group of people gathering around the individual to assist in achieving goals, getting through transitions (residential, vocational, family, etc.), or simply expanding their participation in their community. We assist in the training of facilitators and matching them with people who want to develop circles. We provide personal future planning and train people in facilitating it as well. We also provide ongoing support to the facilitatiors. I'd be interested if there are any resources regarding group facilitation techniques, etc. Another aspect of our work is to assist in building and supporting friendships between children with and without disabilities
Regarding your query: Our relationships with others and assisting those who have been excluded are among the most important gifts to share. The simple gift of human connection can be the most valuable.
Sylvie, I'm interested in the query of simplicity also, and I am struck by the two views of simplicity I observe. One view seems to think that anything "traditional" such as, growing your own food is the "simple life". Others, like John Woolman, (if I am correct) seem to think simplifying your life is necessary in order to free one to spend his time in better pursuits. This conflict also occurred at Thomas Merton's monastary when the abbot stopped the making of bread as it was "cheaper" to buy it at the store. What do you think? Is the "simple life" a traditional one if it is more "time-consuming" or is it one that frees us from labor to concentrate on "good works", the "spiritual" or something else noble?
Is this page still active? Nothing since Sept.
I am offering a course in simplicity at my Unitarian church in Bedford, MA. A lot of people said they wereinterested, but no one shows up - either inconvenient or they forget. It seems many people voice their need to simplify and continue on their current path. Some of your readers may wish to look at "The Yankee Way to Simplify Your Life" by Jay Heinrichs. Read it in conjunction with Eric Sloanes books on early America. The site you have created needs more active participants. Best of luck , I will check in and see how this site does.
Hi, Sylvie! You were probably too busy to participate in UFM's Simplicity Study groups that Peace & Social Concerns Committee ran for about 18 months, finally laying down last month. We have now founded a new subgroup of Peace and Social Concerns Committee called "Friends in Unity with Nature". I expect that the group will continue to address questions of simplicity; we found it quite a complex topic, ramifications running every which way! My own dilemmas come from striving for simplicity while committed (I initially said "committeed", a meaningful Freudian slip if there ever one one!) to too many social-change related activities. Letting go of any of these would be very hard on me and on my relationships, but the fact is that there are too many of them, and I often feel overwhelmed, unable to do a good enough job on any of them! Rationally, I can see how to prioritize them, but I don't feel able to do it. Got any suggestions? Jonathan Betz-Zall, University Friends Meeting, Seattle WA.
You have an interesting web site. I am an Evangelic Friend, social worker and a family preservation and unification consultant. Also active on the board for a samll (but growing) non profit organization called Friends For Families, Inc. based in Oregon. Who knows, perhaps in the future your grnat writing skills may a request of ours.
I am always very aware that I am very blessed to be wealthy enough to even have time to worry whether I am living a "simple" life. I have a feeling that if I had to live in poverty, I wouldn't be concentrating on whether I could simplify my life! So, I am grateful.
I feel that simplicity is about how we live not just about money and resources. Keeping life simple is not easy. It is not just about simple houses and clothing, but also about how we cope with relationships, how many outside activities we undertake, and how we much time we are busy and how much time we devote to reflection or meditation. I find that no matter what my salary, or lack of same, God has provided me with what i need. What I need may not always be what I want but by focusing on what I am given, I find I have always managed to feel good about who I am. By making good use of my time when unemployed, or by accepting low waged work when I had to but finding other activities to create my identity of "what I do", I have lived at a variety of life styles and income but my money always just makes ends meet. When I hoard or worry about what will I do ifÉ then I never have enough. So accepting what God provides and being able to live with it has been a blessing.But that too is a form of simplicity but one which allows me to enjoy the creative projects I so enjoy and that bring me such joy.
I feel that simplicity is about how we live not just about money and resources. Keeping life simple is not easy. It is not just about simple houses and clothing, but also about how we cope with relationships, how many outside activities we undertake, and how we much time we are busy and how much time we devote to reflection or meditation. I find that no matter what my salary, or lack of same, God has provided me with what i need. What I need may not always be what I want but by focusing on what I am given, I find I have always managed to feel good about who I am. By making good use of my time when unemployed, or by accepting low waged work when I had to but finding other activities to create my identity of "what I do", I have lived at a variety of life styles and income but my money always just makes ends meet. When I hoard or worry about what will I do ifÉ then I never have enough. So accepting what God provides and being able to live with it has been a blessing.But that too is a form of simplicity but one which allows me to enjoy the creative projects I so enjoy and that bring me such joy.
I feel that simplicity is about how we live not just about money and resources. Keeping life simple is not easy. It is not just about simple houses and clothing, but also about how we cope with relationships, how many outside activities we undertake, and how we much time we are busy and how much time we devote to reflection or meditation. I find that no matter what my salary, or lack of same, God has provided me with what i need. What I need may not always be what I want but by focusing on what I am given, I find I have always managed to feel good about who I am. By making good use of my time when unemployed, or by accepting low waged work when I had to but finding other activities to create my identity of "what I do", I have lived at a variety of life styles and income but my money always just makes ends meet. When I hoard or worry about what will I do ifÉ then I never have enough. So accepting what God provides and being able to live with it has been a blessing.But that too is a form of simplicity but one which allows me to enjoy the creative projects I so enjoy and that bring me such joy.
I feel that simplicity is about how we live not just about money and resources. Keeping life simple is not easy. It is not just about simple houses and clothing, but also about how we cope with relationships, how many outside activities we undertake, and how we much time we are busy and how much time we devote to reflection or meditation. I find that no matter what my salary, or lack of same, God has provided me with what i need. What I need may not always be what I want but by focusing on what I am given, I find I have always managed to feel good about who I am. By making good use of my time when unemployed, or by accepting low waged work when I had to but finding other activities to create my identity of "what I do", I have lived at a variety of life styles and income but my money always just makes ends meet. When I hoard or worry about what will I do ifÉ then I never have enough. So accepting what God provides and being able to live with it has been a blessing.But that too is a form of simplicity but one which allows me to enjoy the creative projects I so enjoy and that bring me such joy.
I feel that simplicity is about how we live not just about money and resources. Keeping life simple is not easy. It is not just about simple houses and clothing, but also about how we cope with relationships, how many outside activities we undertake, and how we much time we are busy and how much time we devote to reflection or meditation. I find that no matter what my salary, or lack of same, God has provided me with what i need. What I need may not always be what I want but by focusing on what I am given, I find I have always managed to feel good about who I am. By making good use of my time when unemployed, or by accepting low waged work when I had to but finding other activities to create my identity of "what I do", I have lived at a variety of life styles and income but my money always just makes ends meet. When I hoard or worry about what will I do ifÉ then I never have enough. So accepting what God provides and being able to live with it has been a blessing.But that too is a form of simplicity but one which allows me to enjoy the creative projects I so enjoy and that bring me such joy.
I find that simplicity is more than just right uses of resources. Keeping it simple is a slogan I've rediscovered through attending Al-Anon. At these meetings it is not just about outward show and material things, but more focussed on motivation and how I live. Simplicity of objective and purpose is also deeply spiritual and helps keep me connected to God.
I find that being creative is not about outward show as much as sharing in God's spirit. I enjoy creating things with my hands whether it's spinning wool, embroidery, making furniture or just getting the photocopier unjammed. There is a process which sometimes seems to flow through me without my having to control it. When I can simply accept this process it flows, when I try to control the process it stumbles often breaking down in unsatisfactory results.
Sometimes I find Friends use the simplicity testimony to be life denying.I don't thing we are meant to suffer but rather to celebrate the creation. We should be worship God not out of fear but with awe and wonder. There is a simplicity in awe which says I can worship without fully understanding or having an explanation but in simply accepting the gift of life and creation as it is given to me.
I find that simplicity is more than just right uses of resources. Keeping it simple is a slogan I've rediscovered through attending Al-Anon. At these meetings it is not just about outward show and material things, but more focussed on motivation and how I live. Simplicity of objective and purpose is also deeply spiritual and helps keep me connected to God.
I find that being creative is not about outward show as much as sharing in God's spirit. I enjoy creating things with my hands whether it's spinning wool, embroidery, making furniture or just getting the photocopier unjammed. There is a process which sometimes seems to flow through me without my having to control it. When I can simply accept this process it flows, when I try to control the process it stumbles often breaking down in unsatisfactory results.
Sometimes I find Friends use the simplicity testimony to be life denying.I don't thing we are meant to suffer but rather to celebrate the creation. We should be worship God not out of fear but with awe and wonder. There is a simplicity in awe which says I can worship without fully understanding or having an explanation but in simply accepting the gift of life and creation as it is given to me.
Your query, and most of the responses, focus on "simplicity" as a carefull stewardship of physical resources and time. This is an important perspective, but is secondary to Friends' initial meaning when they made simplicity a "testimony" 300+ years ago. They saw that our most critical choices are not among various worldly, human pursuits, but between worldly concerns and heavenly ones. In those days, there was no concern for limited natural resources, endangered species, and the like. Founders of Quakerism saw how the "gentiles" of their day were caught up in pride and self-indulgence which were the basis of the fancy clothes, the flattering titles of address, the social graces, the showy table ware, etc. Jesus came to earth to demonstrate, by His life and His submission to the crucifixion, that our first love is to be God - with all our hearts and minds and strength and soul. The resurrected, living Christ, the Light which Fox saw in each of us, is in us in order to, and has the power to, lead us in humility, meekness, charity, brotherly love... We not follow this Light, though, when we are proud and indul- ging our worldly fancies and lust. Simplicity, therefore, was/is an essential SPIRITUAL state of mind and life that is a fundamental building block of the regereration to which Christ, and His apostle George Fox calls us. William Penn's "No Cross, No Crown" is a tender and candid resource to which I recommend all interested in rediscovering the true foundation of Quaker testimonies such as the one on simplicity.
Did you know that there are Quaker parrots which are green and grey? They make wonderful pets and can say lots of phrases. Greensleeves, our last Quaker, used to say "Pretty bird, "Is a Quaker Parrot," "Money, money, money!" Perhaps Quakers are religious because Greensleeves said, "Easter" and Santa Claus". Quaker Parrots are bigger than cockatiels and they are very fluffy and cuddly.
The reason they're called Quakers is that they have a grey bib on their necks.
I would like your help, Someone has e-mailed me and wants a quaker. However she lives in Illinois and can't get to an airport to pickup if I shipped the bird to her. Do you know anyone who lives in Illinois who raises Quakers, and has some for sale?
Lisa
Hi Sylvie:
I'm starting to talk to our meeting about an official web page. Any suggestions or comments?
It seems to me that simplicity is more of a state of mind, than any sort of physical surroundings or object. (I don't interpret it to mean that we all must go live in a cave in the desert with a hair shirt tied around our waists with a rope)
Financial complexity is a good example that a lot of people could relate to. If you have a mortgage or rental agreement, are you constantly worrying on how you can make the monthly payment or is it easy? Are you taking on more financial obligations than you have the energy to comfortably discharge? (Meaning is it a struggle to make ends meet every month?)
If that is the case, what could you do to reduce the stress of this situation? What would it take to hit that "comfort zone" where you know that if all goes right you will meet all your obligations, duties and responsibilities on average?
Would this mean a simpler life? Would it allow you to concentrate on other, neglected pieces of your life?
It seems to me that to live simply is to know what you believe and to act and live it. In believing there is at least structure and not chaos. There is direction. Simplicity is about your whole life, not only the things you have, but rather about who you are and how you handle the people, things and situations that happen in your life. I hope to learn much much more about this way of life and belief. It seems real. Much unlike the religion I was raised in. Not just a show, but a real way of life.
I am looking for a support group for simplified living in the Portland Oregon area. Does anyone know of one that meets on a regular basis? Thanks,
Checking to see if this site is still open.
I don't know if people are still reading this site, but thought I'd try. I am deeply interested in the question posted by Sylvie, but know that I cannot answer it with any wisdom or experience. I know only a little about Quaker practices and beliefs, based on past readings, but recently have felt a strong urging to investigate further. I am almost 40 and still have not found a spiritual community that feels right, that fits. I live in what seems to be a terribly materialistic area of Texas. It is an overwhelming feeling of stress, complexity, and emptiness for me, with masses of people who have plenty but strive for more and more. Everything feels rapid and complicated and void. I don't want to sound scary, but I feel as if my soul has left me. I know that I am not behaving as God would want me to. I look around me and do not know where to go anymore. I admire and respect those of you who responded to Sylvie's question. You are obviously leaps and bounds ahead of worried, fearful, selfish me. I will continue to read what I can find about the Quaker community, especially the Universalist sector. Are there experienced Universalists out there who would be willing to help me begin, via e-mail? I am all alone in this. I am a woman, so communicating with other women would be nice. Thank you so much.
E-Mail: johnarnison@whiteashhouse.freeserve.co.uk,
Hello friend I,am a Friend in Britain and I am coming to Seattle in August,I would love to get intouch with friends in Seattle,Any ideas? Please give me a E-Mail
Peace John
E-Mail: johnarnison@whiteashhouse.freeserve.co.uk,
Hello friend I,am a Friend in Britain and I am coming to Seattle in August,I would love to get intouch with friends in Seattle,Any ideas? Please give me a E-Mail
Peace John
When does simplicity become unsimple? Is it possible to be so simple that you no longer are simple, but abnormal, and therefore complex? Does simplicity change with time, or can we still speak plain speach and wear plain dress and be considered simple?
What was the clothing like can anyone describe it for me please.
hi
To all quakers: I am writing a report on the quakers and three aspects of the religion: Affects on Daily Life Basic Beliefs History If anyone would like to share what they know or their own opinions please email me by sunday evening, the 25. Thank yoU!
I am in the beginning process of looking into a career change. Today, the idea of grant writing came to mind, mainly, because my son is into looking into environmental jobs which are often dependent on grants, plus the idea of non-profits, even missionaries (revolutionariesoverseas look into grants as a viable means of supporting themselves, also piqued my interest. I was just fascinated of bumping into such a find web page and to be astonished that it is operated by a Quaker. I have only been a Quaker a few years but already feel deeply commited to many of its causes and interest. Now I am thinking that the idea of combining my career change with my Quaker convictions is a very viable alternative. I would appreciate any advice and helpful hints that you may have on this matter. Sometimes the path does just feet, or a light does seem to come to brighten a certain path. I do know that the path that I am now on is not the right one for me. It may mean giving up a secure job but I only have one life to live and I hope it means sharing it as freely as you have done in your work as well as your web site. May the light shine upon your path.
This is a great site. I love the idea of queries and may have to get more information on further queries.
I do believe all that I am given is a gift from God. There are times that I don't live this belief and I either hord or worry about not having enough. This is something I try to bring my attention back to often.
Gee, Sylvie!
I'm trying to design queries for David, my youth pastor in training in the Episcopal Church. He's learned a bit about Discernment and a little about Clearness. He keeps getting over his head in following his vision further than his resources or supporters can keep up with him. We need to do the simplification study and find our connection to basic goals again. Friends process works with him quite well. So I was looking up patterns on queries and making one's own and did a Google search on "Quaker queries" and saw you, and Jane, and Beth! Wow. And the dogs too!
Take care, Rosalie
at the heart of living simply is knowing your values and fashioning environments and cultures that attract and sustain and expand them. this is not an ends, but a process. i am not a master of it. but i am committed to being a student of it all my life.
i understand that much of the simplicity message in the early days of Quakerism was about demonstrating the equality of man (and woman) kind. it was an anti-caste, anti-church-hierarchy, anti-royalty, non-violently militant activism.
those are still legitimate issues about which to demonstrate in the testimony that is our lives. and i think we can often more effectively demonstrate them by practicing equality and castelessness in the environments we create, attract and interact witin, than in intentionally seeking others' environments to challenge. (and i know not all friends will agree with that.)
best, kwc
I hope not to be considered selfish in the use of this site for the following message. I'd like to meet as many F(f)riends as I could,in the Seattle area. I've already sent it out, and it has been warmly received. Thank you for letting me post it here. Sorry for its length. In Peace and Friendship Michael Len drmlen@aol.com 17 Sep 2002
Greetings, Friend > I found your email address from websites with the words "Seattle, > Religious > Society of Friends" , and hope you don't consider this an > impositiion. I > wonder if you could offer me some suggestions, some direction. > > I'm from Hawaii, have lived in England since 1993 and, being of that > "certain > age" of 56, am considering "where to next" to live. I like Seattle very much, and > would > like to visit again. > > I speculate about November-early December, for about 10 days to a > fortnight (2 > weeks, in English-speak). Our Meetings here in the UK advertise hosting by > members > and attenders, sometimes as a way of fundraising, or just to enable > > F(f)riends to travel around the country more easily for pleasure or > to attend > RSF events. I wonder if you know of any F(f)riends in the Seattle > area who > do host in their home. Of course, for remuneration; I > don't mean > for free. > > I am a social worker-psychologist, in Hawaii was employed in prisoner aid > work > with the United Fund, taught at the Catholic Chaminade University > for a bit, > then civil service with the Dept of Navy Family Service Center at Barbers > Point. In > 1991, I went to New Zealand for 2 years with the Christchurch > Methodist > Mission, till coming here in 1993. In early times, I had been a Congregational Mission Interpreter, Episcopalian Lay Reader/Eucharistic Minister, and Methodist Lay Preacher. I am on the Board of Directors > of a > Quaker school here am qualified with the UK Quaker Spiritual Healers group and the UK Quaker Retreat Group (Spiritual Director) am a Quaker-Taoist (Tai Chi Chuan-Chi Kung), am certified as a Police > Custody > Visitor, am a Rotarian, etc. -- I am trying to reassure you of my credibility. I > am sure > any homeowner would want to know before considering renting a room > to a > stranger, even for a fortnight, even a Friend. > > If I can answer any other questions, please let me know. Of course, > I have > references. Oh, this this quest to find a friendly place to stay would > get that > far.!! So...I would be very grateful if you could indeed offer any > ideas. > Or even point me in another direction, to another resource. Thanks > ever so > much in advance. > > In Friendship, > > Michael Len > Bristol & Frenchay Monthly Meeting > drmlen@aol.com Tel 44 117 977 4448 (I would call you right back, as it is much cheaper for me to call UK-to-USA)
I was wondering if you have any information about the history of the queries. To my understanding most yearly meetings have their own set of queries but the idea was derived from somewhere. Can you help?
For me, true simplicity is what frees and nourishes ones soul and thus opens one up to what really matters. I have found that often involves decreasing inner and outer clutter--and then truly putting ones self into what is left and cherished. Though we all have our special niches here, it seems often much of what is left tends to center on God, nature and loved ones (which may be all beings). Technology may not appear on thelist.
However, getting to spend our time on what’s now important can surely be benefited by taking advantage of computers, manufactured items etc if this feels right. I believe it is more the attitude with which we use these things that is important and also observing the result of how they make us feel. If they truly feel right, are chosen carefully, and then are seen as tools rather than what is important in itself, then there can be a healthy balance of gratitude and simplicity.
For me, the process is really about following ones intuition, which is in essence the voice of God, and in clearing and nourishing the space to more deeply hear that voice. How else can we discover what really matters? I find this crucial process of simplicity happens in layers as we find ourselves going deeper into what really matters and discovering our own unique ways of receiving or creating these gifts. Then truly life is rich.
please redo e mail address on mari cabell's post. new address above.thank you!
Simplicity in relationship to material things, for me, means having only that number of “things” that I can, at that time, fully love. When the usefulness of the “thing” has passed, it is important to let it out of your life graciously and in a timely way.
A part of our divine spirit goes into each object we “own”. If one owns too many things, there is too much of a dispersal of our spirit.
At the time of acquisition there is often an excitement, less intense but not unlike the beginning of a new love. That is the time to enjoy one’s excitement as one’s own excitement and not attach that feeling to the new object. Wait until you are sure you have the love for and the commitment to the new object. There are always future opportunities. This is part of Integrity.
This is amazing. I mean I've tried Encyclopedias, the internet search for the Quakers, then I put in Community involvement of the Quakers and I click on it then I see your e-mail adress and click on Quakers and find what I needed for my project. So thank you very very much
love, reader
i am not a Quaker, or of any organized religous group. But I am interested in simple and spritual living and have moved to alaska to facilitate this belief, and goal. I lived all my life in central california and miss it greatly, but not rushing, speeding, overly busy and stressed out people and lives! I live in a log cabin and its hard, sometimes not simple! I still resist the fast pace which has evolved here too. i have no plumbing, so I haul my own water.In California, my friends never had time to get together, never called anymore. everyone is just to busy. So I moved here with dogs and cat, drove the whole way. I feel close to the earth here, the creator speakes to me in nature. I have slowed down enough to feel the divine force behind and upholding all things. The enviornennt here demands asstute attention, or you could die. I feel a deep sense of peace from this. I can sit by my alter and not feel like there is something I should be doing! I agree that there are more things in life to simlplify than home and aparel! Stephanie Little Wolf
I wonder if much to do with simplicity also means inquiring as to why we want to purchase or do things.
If I want to go deeply into debt to buy a huge SUV when a modest car would serve my needs, is the reason I want to buy it just to impress others?
Are our purchases what we use to build ourselves up, in the eyes of ourselves or others? I think so many people make decisions based on what others will think but don't go much deeper.
Do we make purchases to fill a void in ourselves or to avoid reality? Do we overeat to fill an emptiness or stuff down anxiety? Are we shop-aholics because we don't trust ourselves or God enough? Or are we so starved for beauty, time, or love that we overcompensate to ourselves and loved ones? How many people give much thought to why they want to buy things?
I believe that simplicity does allow for beauty and creative expression. Recently I saw a painting that struck a chord in me and if that painting had been within my means, I would have purchased it and made a place for it in my home. I would not have bought it to impress others but for the sheer child-like joy it expressed, for which it would have served as a constant reminder to me.
I also love to garden. For me it is a meditation, a clearing away of mental clutter, and an opportunity to be creative and express myself. My garden has some plants that were expensive for me, others that I started from seed, and it has plants that were shared with me by friends and family. It has plants that I've shared with others. It is a source of obligation and exasperation and expense. But it connects me with nature. Every spring I tread along the flower beds, looking for the first plants to emerge from winter and every year I marvel at the colors and scents and the cycle of life. I could do the same with dandelions but I so enjoy a variety of flowers!
I think much of simplicity is understanding why we desire something, picking and choosing items and activities that are truly meaningful to us, clearing away physical and mental clutter, opening ourselves up to the beauty and joy that is always available to us (stop and smell the roses!), and finding meaning and creativity in life's mundane details.
(I clean up my horses' manure, compost it, and use it in flower beds--not always a fun process, especially in bad weather, but it has meaning and seems to be a metaphor for life in general. The end result, the flowers and vegetables, are wonderful, and the horses' environment is better, too.)
By being grounded in simplicity, we may be more adept at handling life's bigger challenges.
Hi Friends--
First of all I enjoyed your views on simplicity.The part about not wanting excess but just being with God resonated with me. Often when I have days off from my job, I notice that I am most content by just listening to my new age music and meditating or basically doing nothing. So I do believe that there is only so much that one can eat, one can drink, etc.,the key to really getting the most out of life is just to "do nothing" (remember that nothing is something).
Anyway, I don't have a computer, although I am contemplating getting one. Instead, I go to the local library and use theirs when I need to retrieve my messages.
I live in Rochester NY and am a member of Rochester Friends Meeting. My beliefs aren't christian based, but I do consider myself to be extremely spiritual. This short prose is also taking me an incredibly long time to type as I cannot.
PEACE & LOVE ALWAYS.
Hello again-
One reason why the Quakers have appealed to me is the community which our meeting(Rockester) has a really good sense of. At out state of the meeting threshing session we generally came to a very stong "family" like connection.
I've been attending on and off for 15 years and 3 years ago finally became a member. I led an adult religious education on Taoism and how its compatiable with Quakerism. I called this session "The Tao of Friends". I did stress however, that taoism is a philosphy and not a religion. Can anyone out there find the similarities betweew Taoism/Quakerism?
Please e-mail me and let me know.
this is very intresting & helpful to non govt organisations and professtional social workers.
i am also professtional social worker working in NGO MY OFFICE ADDRESS IS GIVEN BELOW;-
VENKATAKRISHNA DIRECTOR HOMBELAKU SEVA SAMSTHE 1299,5TH CROSS,SHANTHINAGAR DODDABALLAPUR-561203 KARNATAKA
KINDLY ADVISE US TO HOW TO RISE FUND & YOUR GUIDENCE IS REQUIRED TO DEVELOPMENT SECTOR.
THANKS VENKATAKRISHNA
Hello friends, I too am interested in the Quaker way of life. I hope to reproduce the simple lifestyle on a small farm in the very small village of Ciudad Hernandez de la Cruz, Argentina. It is inspiring to know that people are out there sharing these values.
Very good site. I have enjoyed it very mugh.
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