Spirituality, and stuff and things
Sep. 9th, 2012 03:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
f4f3I went to the Glasgow Quaker meeting today, for only the second time. It was the largest meeting I've been to, I think, with around 50 people. I enjoyed the meeting itself - there was more sharing than I'm used to, and most of it around perceived injustices and how we react to them. There was a discussion question after that, and although i chatted to a perfectly nice guy called Chris I wasn't quite so keen on that. And a LOT of announcements.
Still, I took away a couple of things which resonated with me. One was the suggestion that just as physical exercise is exercise for the body, thinking is exercise for the mind and prayer is exercise for the spirit. If I swap meditation for prayer (which I'm more comfortable with) then I can see the sense in that.
The other was a prayer, or poem, I found from Inazo Nitobe:
I ask for daily bread, but not for wealth, lest I forget the poor.
I ask for strength, but not for power, lest I despise the meek.
I ask for wisdom, but not for learning, lest I scorn the simple.
I ask for a clean name, but not for fame, lest I contemn the lowly.
I ask for peace of mind, but not for idle hours, lest I fail to hearken to the call of duty.
I liked that. I also liked the person who shared about how we're idolising the paralympians and humiliating disable people on benefit. And that reminded me of a song, "What You Do With What You've Got" - Eddie Reader does a brilliant, beautiful version, but I prefer the harsher voice of Dick Gaughan in this version:
Ah, the hell with it, here's Eddie's version (with Thomas Dolby): you can choose yourself to go with beauty or the beast (sorry, Dick!)
Hmm, sound but no pictures: ah well, it was the words I wanted to share :) Ignore the first 10 seconds of the Eddie version - it's a silly advert for TED.
Still, I took away a couple of things which resonated with me. One was the suggestion that just as physical exercise is exercise for the body, thinking is exercise for the mind and prayer is exercise for the spirit. If I swap meditation for prayer (which I'm more comfortable with) then I can see the sense in that.
The other was a prayer, or poem, I found from Inazo Nitobe:
I ask for daily bread, but not for wealth, lest I forget the poor.
I ask for strength, but not for power, lest I despise the meek.
I ask for wisdom, but not for learning, lest I scorn the simple.
I ask for a clean name, but not for fame, lest I contemn the lowly.
I ask for peace of mind, but not for idle hours, lest I fail to hearken to the call of duty.
I liked that. I also liked the person who shared about how we're idolising the paralympians and humiliating disable people on benefit. And that reminded me of a song, "What You Do With What You've Got" - Eddie Reader does a brilliant, beautiful version, but I prefer the harsher voice of Dick Gaughan in this version:
Ah, the hell with it, here's Eddie's version (with Thomas Dolby): you can choose yourself to go with beauty or the beast (sorry, Dick!)
Hmm, sound but no pictures: ah well, it was the words I wanted to share :) Ignore the first 10 seconds of the Eddie version - it's a silly advert for TED.
