One of the most fundamental aims of my kind of Quakerism is having a pure intention: living our lives聽in a way that feels right and (usually) makes sense.
In Quakerism, we call that a 鈥渓eading鈥� 鈥� sort of like a聽calling, it is an action that feels right, an act of love, an act in alignment with our whole self, an act of pure聽meaning.
In my tradition, we have a practice we call a clearness聽committee. When I moved to Montreal, I was scared. I聽had a strong urge to go but I knew no one and had no聽plan. I asked for a clearness committee because I wanted to purify my intention.
So I called the elders of my Quaker Meeting, the people I trust and respect the most 鈥� the people whose opinions shake me to my core 鈥� and we sat in silence for a bit. The tradition is that in a clearness committee, they just ask questions 鈥� no advice, no stories. They聽asked why I was moving to Montreal, what I expected, what I was concerned about.
But it wasn鈥檛 working. I wasn鈥檛 feeling better. Then I聽said, forget the tradition: I think I just need to hear stories. I asked them to tell me about times when they had taken a leap. The stories poured forth 鈥� of quitting a聽secure job to study mushrooms, of moving across the country on a whim 鈥� and as these stories washed my聽ears and my heart, I knew Montreal would be my new聽home.
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Learn more about David and how you can connect with the Quaker tradition at 平特五不中 on our Multifaith Volunteer page.
