I myself am not a Quaker by any means. But I do find comfort in some of the Quaker processes. I try to live by the SPICES (at least the ones I can remember) as best I can, which sometimes, I’ll admit I could do a better job of following. And during our meeting for worship ceremonies, I try to be present. It’s the closest thing I have to prayer so I like to treat as such.

I think about a lot of things during these meetings and subsequently, say a lot. Many people might think that I just mindlessly babble to break the monotonous silence that quite often fills the meeting house, or I’m trying to spread my “communist” agenda. Well, I can guarantee you that I am definitely not trying to do either of those things.

Every time I speak I put genuine thought into each and every word. And while it might not make sense to everyone, or even anyone, it does to me. And although I am known to stand up and speak my mind a little bit more than the one time that we are actually supposed to get up, it’s just because I feel as though I’ve had a mini revelation and want to share it with the group so everyone can understand what’s going on in my head a bit better.

Because community is about connections.

Whether it is about rivalry day or Taylor Swift songs, when we can relate to each other and understand each other, all of us can learn from one another and become a stronger community because of it.

And just as George Fox said, “Friends, meet together and know one another in that which is eternal, which was before the world was.”