Finding meaning and purpose

True Godliness don't turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it, and excites their endeavours to mend it:  not hide their candle under a bushel, but set it upon a table in a candlestick.  

William Penn, 1682

Everyone needs meaning in their lives. Everyone needs purpose. Quakers find them through a blend of spirituality and action. And for many of us, it can be hard to distinguish between the two.

Quakers often talk about a ‘Spirit’ working inside people. We recognise and accept there is a part of us that is not our intellect, not our emotions, not our ego; but something central to our being that can guide us, help us connect to others, provide insights, and help us make sense of our lives, if we trust it and give it time to work.

We find we may be prompted by the Spirit while sitting in silence and stillness, and unexpectedly at other times. These promptings may give us a sense of direction in our daily lives.

Quakerism is a faith grounded in individual experience.  Insights and reflections of Quakers from the 17th to the 21st century, some famous, some obscure, but all equal, are recorded in extracts in Quaker Faith & Practice.  Some of these extracts are bound to speak to you more than others.  Collectively, they represent an ongoing search for how to express belief in action, for how to live our lives with integrity and hope.

Included in Quaker Faith & Practice is a set of brief Advices & Queries, garnered from the past 400 years. The most recent urge Friends to respect diversity, to prepare sensibly for old age, and to live sustainably, amongst other things.  The earliest, by George Fox, expresses one of the key beliefs of Quakers: 

'Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts.  Trust them as the leadings of God whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life.'