Comfort Spiral

Thursday, September 27, 2018

A Society of Friends

A L O H A !

"Right is right, even if

everyone is against it, and

wrong is wrong, even

if everyone is for it."

William Penn

“I shall pass through

this world but once.

Any good therefore that

I can do or any kindness

that I can show to

any human being,

let me do it now.

Let me not defer

or neglect it,

for I shall not pass

this way again.”

Stephen Grellet

"O Lord, help me not to

despise or oppose what I

do not understand."

William Penn

Linking to
Skywatch Friday

💚

When I was a child

I lived in the Quaker City

of Philadelphia. The ethos

of the Society of Friends, and

the Pennsylvania Commonwealth's

founder William Penn, was one of

doing right to all in good faith,

all with deep simplicity

and humility. This helped to

shape my concepts or Right & Wrong,

preparing me for the revelation of,

and my lifetime devotion to, the

important values of ALOHA.

Quaker Stephen Grellet

and his friends,

were granted audience with several

European rulers: Kings,

Queens, the Czar.

The Friends shared their ideas about

abolishing war, and lifting up the

peasants and common folk. Reportedly,

several rulers were receptive and

appreciative of the spirit the Friends

shared. But sadly they explained, that

their "absolute" power was contingent

on maintaining the system in place.

Should they make the heavenly

changes advocated by their Quaker

visitors. . . . well, they would no longer

be ruler! As a child this impressed me

very much. While we often make enemies

of persons, persons who say, or do, or

advocate that which we find wrong,

we are all part of a giant human dance

through time. A dance in which we

all participate, though some sit and

watch. Though responsible for our

own steps, though, each of us

exerts a genuine influence on the

dancers around us, and on the

dance itself, none of us is

responsible for guiding the dance.

We play but a roll. Even Kings,

Queens, and Presidents.

So dance kindly, Dance towards

the Light. Change your partners,

swing around, reach out to be

steadied. Get giddy sometimes.

But Dance!

Your Friend, cloudia

Society of Friends = "Quakers"

"Justice Bennet of Derby, was the first that called us Quakers, because I bid them tremble at the word of the Lord. This was in the year 1650." George Fox

"Stephen Grellet (2 November 1773 – 16 November 1855) was a prominent French-born American Quaker missionary.

He was born Étienne de Grellet du Mabillier in Limoges, the son of a counsellor of King Louis XVI. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he was educated at the Military College of Lyons, now the Institut d'études politiques de Lyon, and at the age of 17 he entered the personal guard of the king. During the French Revolution he was sentenced to be executed, but escaped and eventually fled Europe to the United States in 1795.

Impressed by the writings of William Penn, George Fox, and Quaker beliefs, in 1796 Grellet joined the Society of Friends. He became involved in extensive missionary work across North America and most of the countries of Europe, in prisons and hospitals, and was respectfully granted meetings with many rulers and dignitaries, including Pope Pius VII, Czar Alexander I, and the Kings of Spain and Prussia. He encouraged many reforms in educational policies and in hospital and prison conditions.

It is reputed that Grellet was the last living person who could have identified the "Lost Dauphin", the heir apparent of France.[citation needed]

Grellet died in Burlington on 16 November 1855 and his body was buried there, behind the Quaker Meeting House at 340 High Street."

Wikipedia Link