Quaker wisdom: simplicity and that of God in everyone

Today I had a wonderful moment with my (F)friend Ian. Ian is working on a programme for this year at camp where individuals who have chosen to take on simple living practices in ordinance with peak-oil, and the ever looming crash.

Ian and I have an affinity for developing thoughts and engaging in worthwhile discussion on such subjects, so I hope that I can be useful for him in his project as he has been invaluable for me and FYDE. I managed to ask him if he had thought of a query or theme that would summarize the programme. I was admittedly fishing for some straight sentence or phrase which would focus my ideas and thoughts towards something. Themes have a wonderful way of drawing things together.

Ian's response was frankly brilliant, although his tone suggested that he had heard it from somewhere else... I'm not sure where:

"Live simply that others simply live"

I think what has really drawn me towards this is that it collects so many Quaker values. Simplicity is an obvious component to this, and I welcome it as it is often the hardest to describe. I know why simplicity is important, and why it feeds my soul personally, but I think this helps to verbalize that sentiment.

However, it also involves the wisdom that there is that of God in everyone. So often our holy responsibility is to live respectfully, and as though there are delicate commons between all things. This I believe is something we will all need to be aware of.

I think also, perhaps to a lesser degree, this also has links to other Friends' values, such as compassion, integrity, and peace; all of which are based on the premise that our actions and doing has impact on others lives. In accordance with the quote "Peace is not the absence of violence, but the presence of justice", we must all live justly, according to our limitations of common resources.

I hope we are all living a wonderful day, and that we are all commonly struggling for such a justice... it is needed deeply. Paix