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SPRING
1999
Gloria Horvay, Clerk, Salem Quarterly Meeting
Dear Friends,
I have been deeply touched to hear from so many of you regarding my last column. To give you an update, I went for a checkup and was told the fibroids were still there. Even more disappointing, my doctor seemed unwilling to discuss this with me.
Fortunately a very considerate friend told me about Christianne Northrup’s book and audiotape, Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. This is a wonderful resource for women’s health. Dr. Northrup believes women have the ability to heal themselves if given the information they need. So a positive outcome of this experience is that I am educating myself and may seek a new doctor, perhaps a woman, who will discuss my health with me.
The videotape Tai Chi for Healing mentioned in the last issue is available for $12.95 plus $2.95 for shipping from Publishers Choice, PO Box 4400, Huntington Station, N.Y. 11750. I continue to do these exercises regularly and find them very helpful.
This is the time of year we often take stock of our lives and plan for the future. I have found Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach an inspirational treasure chest which has had a subtle yet important influence on my daily life. The book version has daily readings spread throughout the year, while the audio tape highlights the six basic principles which direct us to be in tune with our authentic selves.
The first principle is gratitude. The author recommends keeping a gratitude journal in which we list five things that we are thankful for each day. Even though I don’t get to it every day, I have been amazed how this simple practice has helped me focus on and appreciate what I have, rather than feeling deprived because of things I don't have.
Gratitude leads to simplicity. Early in the book Quaker spirituality and simplicity are described. I have always had difficulty understanding simplicity, so it was helpful to read: “Simplicity [is] the desire to clear out, pare down, and realize the essentials of what we need to live truly well.”
The remaining four principles, order, harmony, beauty and joy, will have to wait for another time so I can express gratitude for people in Salem Quarter. Our coordinator, Phil Anthony, has been instrumental in facilitating community among us. Donna Gibson inspired Friends School, Mullica Hill Monthly Meeting, and Woodstown Monthly Meeting to work together with the 10,000 Villages Gift Shop before Christmas. The women’s group has grown as a result of the articles by Mary Waddington and Carol Roth in the last newsletter. And this is just a brief sampling of our Quarter members who are following their leadings to increase love in our community.
I hope to see you at our March Quarterly Meeting in Woodstown when Tom Hoopes will speak on the results of the November education threshing session at Arch Street. Tom is part of the PYM staff for education.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM
