I love and agree with all of Joe’s message. I also want to add that Quakerism is rarely an either or proposition regarding Quietism or action. And that there are personal cycles, which also will help us choose how we will respond. And there is also the long term development and unfolding of ones spiritual understanding. And just to make it all the more complex there are the various combinations of using both to support each other.
In fact, most of our Quaker forms depend on small numbers of Friends acting while the rest of us hold them in prayer. This is true in meeting for worship, business meeting, marriage, and yard sales. To be in one form or another solely and for extended periods is sort like only eating from one food group. There might be reason for it and maybe even good for a few folks, but mostly we need some combination of both. I would prescribe Quietism for anyone exhausted by the pain of the world and their own pain. But I wouldn’t suggest they live there forever. I think action is healthy and lovely but only when it actually is and feels lovely and healthy and wouldn’t assume that it’s the only way to be for everyone all the time. Passion too must be protected and cared for with quiet now and again. The balance is individual and it’s rarely static.
I think the whole world is probably better off because Joe got up out of bed today and went out into the world to make some good Godly trouble. Of course as a guy who has run 100 mile races through mountains, Joe is probably better at getting out of bed than most. (As for getting in to bed, that’s another story which I’ll be happy to tell another time) But if Joe wants to stay under the covers for a bit, I think this is also a spiritual discipline and entails some learning of balance in spiritual life. One person’s nap is another persons denial is another persons wasted time is another persons preparation is another persons luxury. I used to be a night person. I did the vast majority of my writing between 10 PM and 2 AM. Now I am kind of a mid-afternoon person. And after middle age? Will I be a morning person? And might I be around the planet long enough to not be drawn to such extremes? I think that would be a very long life indeed.
I truly feel personally honored by all the actions that are shared here among Friends. In our little town of Putney, 3,000 people, 200 folks came out the other full moon night to a candlelight witness against the American war in Iraq. Great pain can bring great light but usually only with great work and with enough quiet to feel the changes.
Dear Great and Holy Spirit
Be with us now
as we hear the cannons roar
the screams and bleeding
done in our name
weapons and soldiers we’ve paid for
May the strangers and friends
surrounded in this failure of humans
be washed with the Light
of mercy
of the Divine
May the good will and kindness
of the common people
prevail
show up
shine
after the thunder
of ignorance pounds
the children
we will never know
Forgive us our failures
as our species
learns so slowly
so poorly
with so little reverence
for life