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Robert Griswold

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A New Intimacy I have always longed to be part of a community. But it has become clear to me lately that “belonging” depends on being accountable. I do not mean this in a quid pro quo sense, like an accountant balancing the books. I mean this in the sense of family members being accountable to each other, where they care for each other, and they all contribute as much as they are able. In the intimacy of a family, each member accepts a sense of vulnerability to the others. They put their trust in each other. They know that each person’s conduct reflects on the family as a whole. They know that they owe the family the consideration of behaving in ways that reflect well on it. The family has a right to expect the members to account for their behavior. By being accountable in an intimate setting, people strengthen the bonds of love among them.

Issue: On Beginning (March 2016)

Ego, Imagination, Condition, and Light Friends use the word Light a lot.  They use it as a metaphor to point towards an experience.  But Friends use this basic expression so casually that I fear it has become conventional and trivial. We don’t much think about what the Light (as experience) means or where it comes from or why we need it. Nor are we aware of how we got into the dark in the first place. Like many metaphors, Light is better understood when it is placed in a context. My experience is that ego, imagination, and condition are factors that provide a helpful context for considering the Light.

Issue: On Pride (July 2014)

Tenants and Tenets Dear editor: I read with amusement the memorial minute in the May/June issue that referred to the person's "commitment to the tenants of Quakerism.” While it is quite true that many in our meetings seem to be leaseholders of our faith rather than owners and thus in great need of support from others, it would be better still if Friends understood that our faith has no tenets and that "Quakerism" as an ideology is a corruption of our faith.

Issue: On Superiority (July 2013)

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