What Do I Yearn For?

A memorial reception with gluten-free or other diary-needs offerings carefully labeled, Friends Meeting at Cambridge, January, 2018

Walking to Meeting on Sunday, I passed a couple of  Ant “dockless” bicycles in front of Harvard’s Science Center, a new company that, like Hubway, the other bike-rental company in greater Boston, uses crossbar-free bikes. Exclusively. “Girls’ bikes,” we used to say. (When I was a kid, I wore dresses. That crossbar was highly inconvenient!)

During the unusually long quiet I found myself deeply moved that Ant’s and Hubway’s bikes are inclusive, accommodating, and account for “the least of these.” (Someone in a pencil skirt, a kilt, a sari? Anyone for whom swinging a leg over a crossbar could be challenging?)

More came to me during the quiet: I remembered a concert a while back, given by Daniel Parker, a former Quaker Voluntary Service fellow, now studying piano at Julliard. (Daniel’s concert was a fund-raiser for QVS.) Before he began Bach’s Goldberg variations, he asked the fifty-or-so-member audience if we wanted him to play straight through or if we’d prefer a break. Some of us—perhaps the same demographic who’d prefer not to swing our leg over a bike’s crossbar?—indicated we’d like a break. “I think we need to respect that,” Daniel said. There was pushback: “Put it to a vote!” someone called out. Gently but firmly, Daniel reiterated that we all needed to accommodate those who’d expressed need.

“What do I yearn for?” I have been asking myself that question a lot lately. Sunday I was offered a glimpse: I yearn to live in an accommodating, inclusive world, a world where day-to-day decisions are made after asking: How will this effect the poor, the homeless, the undocumented, the abused?

Sound good?

 

 

 

 

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1 Comment

  1. Dear Patricia,

    Well, hi, there, Patricia, and greetings and salutations to you and to you AND FOR VERY ESPECIALLY FOR YOU FOR ALWAYS, my awesomely precious and dearly special FOR ALWAYS soul sistahfriend Christian Quaker woman who you’re FOR ALWAYS so, so very much!!!!! 🙂 <3 WOW, Patricia, WOW!!!! WOW!!!!! WOW here!!!!!! What a very riveting, interesting, and fascinating blog post article this is here by absolutely AWESOME YOU, Patricia!!!!!! I so love, like, and enjoy your take on things in this very greatly grand read of such a spectacular blog post article here, sistah!!!!! Sistahfriend, I just love and so enjoy reading about the share a bicycle program! WOW, this is a very progressive idea with this program which will fulfill the transportation needs for very many folks who are able-bodied enough to be able to ride the bicycles, my friend. What a wonderful and empowering idea with bike sharing, Patricia, AND this reduces the carbon footprint as folks riding bicycles instead of driving cars and other vehicles will in so doing reduce that awfully high carbon footprint our beautiful but tired, plagued Earth is facing, enduring, and experiencing, my so, so very dearest and darling friend. Also, with bicycles being quite expensive the bike sharing will provide more affordable and accessible options for people to ride bicycles as an alternative mode of transportation, sistahfriend. I, too, am so, so very much moved and touched in my very heart and spirit that the bike sharing is such an inclusive and accommodating avenue for persons accounting for the "least of these" as you wisely quote here and share in your vast words of such acute and astute sagacity with such keen and sharp clarity, sister. I, too, so love and appreciate how very considerate(and gifted and talented) Daniel Parker asked at that beautiful concert awhile back if anyone needed a break during the performance. I'd need a break for sure, too! I so love and appreciate how when there was some pushback from folks who didn't want a break during the concert that he gently but firmly shared and declared that people must all accommodate those who had those needed concerns to have a necessary break. In doing so and meeting the needs for the people this is meeting folks right where they are at in their need and showing loving concern and consideration for them in their moment of need. I would so love and be highly engaged in such a fine and melodious concert like this but I know that I'd need to get a little bit of a necessary break, too! I love that this was a fundraiser for Quaker Voluntary Service which this dear man was a former fellow of and so enjoyed reading the marvelous link regarding QVS and oh, how I so love as well how you've once again as usual as always as ever very graciously and generously feature and include all of these very superb links which I just delighted so in reading over all of this great material, my friend, Patricia! I love so as well how you mentioned that he began Bach's Goldberg variations with the splendid link accompanying this very salient and succinct blog post article with such rich details about this fine and magnificent piece of music. WOW, he is just brilliant and such a creative musical genius studying at Julliard!!!!! WOW!!!!!! I am just very inspired, emboldened, uplifted, and encouraged by the quote from Matthew and with the awe-inspiring link accompanying this very fine and excellent article here, Patricia. Just as these words urge us to help and do for people that we are helping and doing for our Sweet Jesus that we are as we love our AWESOME Jesus throughout all of this blessed endeavor that we are helping, doing, and loving for the people for themselves and for their own sake as well. This is loving people for their own sake. The title of this very fantastic blog post article is just perfect here perfectly fitting and applicable to the very grand themes and topics of this eye-opening blog post article. The picture which you've very graciously and generously feature and include with this very perspicacious writing here is just perfect, picture-perfect perfectly adding to and complementing this wonderful masterful composition in the written word here. WOW, what a tasty, yummy, delectable, and delicious-looking feast in this enticing picture here, sistah and friend of mine, Patricia!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Sisterfriend, I love how you continually ask yourself as you wonder and brainstorm on this very blessed thought in all of your introspection and contemplation, " What do I yearn for?" I continue to ask myself that very same question also and this has been a frequent question for myself throughout my entire life. What a joy and such fun to ask ourselves continuously this question so full of such potential for us just ripe with such bountiful blessings to come as we gradually delve into what all this question with its very gradual answers enfolding for us will create for us in our lives with such sheer and joyous guidance that this very vitally urgent, important, and necessary question brings to our lives throughout our blessed lives, sistahfriend. I just love the glimpse you received in your so, so very precious, special, and beautiful heart and spirit on Sunday. I so yearn along with you, my dear, dearest, precious Patricia as you so wisely say for "an accommodating, inclusive world where day-to-day decisions are made after asking: How will this affect the poor, the homeless, the undocumented, the abused?" AWWWWWWW, my so, so very sweet sistah you've just gone straight to my very heart and spirit for I am an indigent woman receiving my low, fixed income with my disability benefits and I'm just so, so moved and touched in my very heart and spirit that you love and care for us as the poor and, in fact, you so love and care for in cherishing all of your sisters and brothers as Spirit's beloved and special children!!!!!! YOU ARE such a dedicated, steadfast, and courageous ally to me and for so, so very many other folks, too, sistahfriend Patricia!!!!!! 🙂 <3 I can so relate to the people you so love and cherish because I've been homeless earlier in my life and I've been abused in my past!!!!!!! AWWWWWW, my so, so very right on, wondrously wonderful soul sistahfriend white woman, Patricia, who you're FOR ALWAYS so, so very much YOU ARE such a good woman of faith, such a good woman of such spirit and Spirit, Patricia!!!!!! 🙂 <3 YOU so wisely ask of us, "Sound good?," and I answer with a very resounding and hearty, "YES, my absolutely AWESOME sistahfriend, Patricia, AND, "AMEN to that!!!!!!!! Praise be!!!!!!!!" Now I feel even better and brighter with even more greatly added cheer being renewed, re-energized, rejuvenated, and reinvigorated to be even more ready, wanting, willing, and able to suit up and show up for duty to continue even more so to resist, interrupt, and persist!!!!!!! Oh, my sister, Patricia, YOU ARE such a joy, such a joy and a blessing, my very life's and eternal joy and blessing, and you help and bless me so, so very much my sisterfriend Christian woman in my very walk with Spirit!!!!!!! 🙂 <3 WOW!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! YAY for YOU, Patricia!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!! YAY!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!! YAY for our very sistahhood and friendship, Patricia!!!!!! WOW!!!!! YAY!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!! Sisterfriend, I thank-YOU and Spirit continually FOR YOU and FOR YOUR VERY PRESENCE IN MY VERY LIFE, Patricia!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Sistahfriend, please have such a totally thrilling and terrific Thursday, such a wondrously wonderful rest of your week and weekend ahead, and may all of your very days be so, so very especially blessed, Patricia!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Spirit so, so very much loves and cherishes YOU AND SO DO I A WHOLE LOT AND A WHOLE BUNCH, TOO, Patricia!!!!!! 🙂 <3 Patricia, YOU ARE just the very greatest and the very best and such the very, very epitome of such overall awesomeness, friend and sister of mine!!!!!!! 🙂 <3

    Very Warmly and Sincerely FOR ALWAYS, my so, so very FOR ALWAYS awesomely special and dearly precious FOR ALWAYS soul sistahfriend Christian Quaker white woman who you're FOR ALWAYS so, so very much, Patricia, sisterfriend of mine, with My and Spirit's VERY PEACE AND LOVE FOR YOU FOR ALWAYS, sister of mine, AND with SUCH BLESSINGS AND SUCH VERY EVEN MORE BLESSINGS FOR YOU FOR ALWAYS, friend of mine, 🙂 <3

    YOURS FOR ALWAYS soul sistahfriend Christian black woman AND FOR ALWAYS in the very great spirit of unity and solidarity, Sherry Gordon in Iowa City, Iowa 🙂 <3

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