New England Yearly Meeting
Minute on Connection with All Creation
(approved 1991)
New England Yearly Meeting website: http://www.neym.org/
Cultivating a deeper awareness of our connections with all of Creation enables us to live more Spirit-filled lives. Such awareness brings us great joy, reminds us of God’s presence in everything around us, leads us to greater clarity and acceptance of ourselves as God’s creatures, and helps us avoid the traps of busyness and striving after material things. Failure to respect the sanctity and interdependence of all Creation is a root of war, social oppression, and environmental destruction. The recent war in the Persian Gulf is a visible and painful example of such failure.
As we strive to live in the awareness of connectedness we become more sensitive to the consequences of our words, deeds and attitudes; and we enter a deeper, more joyous relationship with God. We ask Friends, individually and corporately, to affirm our connectedness with all Creation, and to consider how “the Spirit of Christ, by which we are guided,” can help us live in a more loving association with the Earth and its inhabitants.
Queries:
- How can I transform my daily life to minimize consumption and free myself from activities which sustain war, oppression, and environmental destruction?
- Do I seek to keep close to that which centers me, striving to discard attitudes and behaviors which diminish my awareness of God’s Creation?
- What do I do daily to remind myself of my connections with people, other creatures, and all that sustains life? How does this bring joy, thankfulness, and nourishment into my spiritual life?