Home of the Wanderer

Lunch was a pair of “nutri tacos” from a stand around the corner from the Village Free School - one with shredded pork, one with shredded beef. It left me wondering how to inform a restaurant that they may be out of compliance with city code (in this case by using styrofoam for their to-go containers) without coming off as arrogant or threatening, but still conveying the importance of the issue to me.

I think I have something like an answer, in the practice I think of as “being the Truth” - spending some time reflecting on all the different things I want to convey, letting the feeling of those communications settle into my body before acting or speaking on the matter, and then acting as I’m led while trusting that my whole being will move in concert with my intent. Thanks to my teachers and mentors for training me in the essential pieces of that process, and helping me put it all together.

I just had lunch with my dear f/Friend Ron. I had a Patriot and two glasses of sweet tea; he had a grits sampler. We talked about life, the universe, and everything. Always a pleasure for me to connect with him. Funny, too, to hear him say “that’s exactly right” - because if you’d asked me last night, I’d have said he would never say anything so judgmental. I love how closely he and I find our values aligned. And I’m glad he suggested lunch - he’s one of those Friends in my meeting who seems to be a naturally emergent Elder for me; I value the grounding provided by reflecting on his questions and interacting with his curiosity about my life.

Earlier, I had a few crackers, a slice of Colby Jack cheese, and a cup of grape juice during social hour.

On the first evening of the Young Adult Friends Conference this weekend here at Earlham, in Richmond, Indiana, I heard a lot of messages about perfection. (more…)

I’m writing from the Young Adult Friends (YAF) Conference at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. This has been (and continues to be) a powerful weekend for me. The only expectation I had when I arrived was that I would be transformed. Okay, so I also expected to see a lot of old f/Friends and make new ones, and I was hoping to spread the word about other future YAF gatherings (actually, I thought that was a key and important reason for my coming here; more on that later), but I showed up with the expectation that I would undergo thorough and dramatic change.

That expectation has been fulfilled, again and again. I look forward to writing more later, but at the moment I’m headed off to our evening program.

http://sillypoorgospel.blogspot.com/2008/03/geek-squad-jesus.html

Peggy Parsons, who has a paid position with universal tech support, writes skillfully about the ultimate programmer, the big software re-write, and the human interface. As a tech support volunteer – and as one who likes to customize the system settings, download new software, get all the latest upgrades, and sometimes even do beta testing – I’m particularly grateful for the 24/7 help-desk.

While I’m often more excited about the new releases than I’ve ever been about the millenia-old re-write, I recognize that it’s all being done by the same dev-team. In fact, I think that a lot of the new releases I get so excited about may really just be custom design adjustments to get my interface working. One thing I love about the dev-team: there is no abandon-ware, and they’re always taking bug reports. It’s nice to know that the lead hacker takes a personal interest in making the software work for each and every one of us.

Allison writes in this recent post about, among other things, the relationship between Quakerism, Universalism, and Christianity. That brought to mind this article, which my grandmother recently shared with me when I was back east visiting. In it, Samuel Caldwell argues that Quakerism not only marries Christianity to Universalism, but makes of them two sides of the same coin.

It was a refreshing read for me, as it seemed to speak to (and of) my own condition. I suppose I’ll need to make a note of it in my page about my spirituality.

Robin Mohr’s recent comment brought to mind a question that has been with me in recent years: does anyone wait for the results of a clearness process before deciding that they are getting married? Given the number of happy marriages with which I am acquainted that seem not to have done so, is it necessary? Have we ever, as a Society, had this as a practice?

From what I’ve seen, such discipline would seem to be a thing of legend. And then I consider a couple who called off their wedding plans twice before finally (after ten years, I believe, and on the third attempt) getting clearness to marry. It was hard for them, but I believe they both consider it to have been appropriate to wait. (more…)

“Quaker Dating” by Betsy Blake | QuakerYouth

I would *totally* sign up for a Quaker dating site. As a matter of fact, I have. I’m not convinced yet about http://www.quakersingles.org – they have 65 registered users, and no way to filter search results by age or location. In the meanwhile, I’m using http://www.okcupid.com (where I’m registered as heaventwig).

I’ve been thinking, for a couple of years now, about a Young Adult Friends (YAF) workshop on Quaker romance. I was hoping this blog post might talk about such a thing, or try to address some of the questions that come up for me about what it means to date as a Friend. I guess you did that to some extent in raising the issues of discipline and the desire to pair with another Friend, which both seem relevant to me. (more…)

Some things are just plain fun, and even easy, while providing a challenge.

For example, it’s challenging to sing really well, but when it works it just works. The voice flows out of the mouth effortlessly – at this point the voice is beyond belonging to a particular person, or at least it seems that way when I’m the one opening my mouth and letting song flow out. There’s no work involved, except in staying out of the way.

Similarly, I find a pleasant challenge when I can stare into my heart and discover the sun, everywhere I go. (more…)

I believe that government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed; that the best policies are those that most help the least well-off; and that by thinking together, members of a community can gather their collective wisdom to discover good ways to manage their common assets. I believe (more…)