RantWoman posted the following item and is deeply touched that 60 people and counting like the rhinos, RantWoman's snarky intro, and other words of wisdom in the comments
From Facebook
This belongs here (in the Association of Bad Friends group) because:It is such a profound appreciation both of God's creation and ..
Plus I am rolling on the floor laughing even if no one has given them Quaker hats
Comments included references to glandular issues, kale and starch, and whether Biblical unicorns might be rhinos.
In the category of things to raise one's spirits in times of ecological catastrophe, RantWoman celebrates the presence of two rhinos in the same picture!
Speaking of herds of rhinos, Meditations on worship after reading some
minutes.
If reading all the ramble below seems like too much, please consider
just starting by saying Hi next time you see RantWoman. And please bear with it
if RantWoman just seems startled. That happens.
RantWoman’s basic welcoming query and invitation to read further: is
there something you wish RantWoman would immediately pay attention to in
addition or instead of the ramble below? What rises for you from the reading?
A note on the word “exhaustion:” RantWoman takes that word seriously.
RantWoman is also exhausted and frustrated. RantWoman is vexed by one strand of
exhaustion coming from Friends complaining of exhaustion. Thee Friends complain
of exhaustion, keep doing things RantWoman thinks must be exhausting, and do
not seem able to hear RantWoman’s testimony about many things that make a great
deal of difference, RantWoman hopes are much less exhausting than current
practices. Please hold this in the Light as we return to the rest of the Rhino
safari.
RantWoman spent college with a gender ratio of 2-1 at the same
university and in overlapping time period with Michelle Obama who writes of the
same issue: trying to be heard among male
classmates. So RantWoman does pushy conversation style really well. Sometimes
RantWoman gets it that she needs to shut up and listen. Sometimes.
Be warned, also RantWoman was a
literature major AND RantWoman can make
almost any text an exercise in free association, idiosyncratic metaphors, and hard-to-fathom
logical links. RantWoman KNOWS this. Humbly RantWoman has needed to be told
more than once in coming to know. Sometimes God and RantWoman do not manage to
shepherd this overpacked spiritual itinerary into bites suitable for Meeting
for worship. Sometimes this is because the message needs to be tested, seasoned
and may evolve in streams of worship over time.
Sometimes this is because the content of RantWoman’s head really needs
to be something longer like an article or a blog post. Rantwoman is working on
discernment about this. Sometimes RantWoman really appreciates it when people
trust their Light enough to say something, anything that might help the
discernment.
Quaker worship, to RantWoman is OPPORTUNITY, opportunity to wade into
spiritual waters, to bathe with others in the power and mystery of God. And
yes, RantWoman means God even though form, gender, physicality of presence are
all left unspoken—for MANY reasons.
Speaking of opportunity, RantWoman is REALLY sorry some of you say you
are leaving because of RantWoman’s messages. RantWoman is further pained
because unless you say hi to RantWoman regularly, agree to serve on a
committee, or participate in a Meeting activity with RantWoman, at best you are just another fuzzy blob
RantWoman is busy trying not to plow into. Much as RantWoman wants to welcome
your presence into the long history of this meeting and RantWoman’s deep caring
for the community, if you cannot take a chance and use your words, RantWoman is
not going to know one way or another whether you are worshipping with us or
not. How can RantWoman miss you if she does not know you have been there?
In fact, Friends have you considered whether the Holy Spirit might be
trying to tap you on the shoulder with a call to ministry? Have you considered
the possibility that more of the community needs to hear your message than if
you wait around for Worship and Ministry? See, some of the time messages that
come crashing through to RantWoman are things like “be true to your Light and
the right people will catch up” or “Some people are wearing too many hats. Are
there new heads who might be drawn to putting on some of the “extra” hats.
While some among Friends clutch their pearls, (mainly metaphorical pearls:
these ARE Quakers ) about messages that respond to other messages, RantWoman’s
experience often enough is that light from messages is cumulative. RantWoman says all the time all over her blog
that she is almost always thrilled when a new voice offers vocal ministry.
RantWoman maintains and is herself on a mental list of frequent flyers, Friends
whose messages RantWoman wishes might make it out of others’ mouths, and new
messages new voices would be even more wonderful.
RantWoman also reads the phrase “beyond her Light.” Beyond RantWoman’s
Light? Beyond the listener’s Light? Meant for someone else and other Friends
are simply to uphold? RantWoman fairly often receives exactly contradictory
feedback about the same message. RantWoman quaintly expects that Friends with concerns
about RantWoman’s messages can at least articulate some point RantWoman needs
to hold tenderly. Sometimes RantWoman manages simply to hold in the Light the
fact of the disquiet. Sometimes.*see note below about RantWoman’s experience of
Holding in the Light.
RantWoman has also heard feedback of the form “I am afraid to say
something because…” The particular because implied RantWoman might say or do
something “unsafe” with what is spoken. RantWoman is sitting with that problem.
RantWoman is also sitting with many moments when her head is about to explode,
about to explode for any number of reasons. In such moments, RantWoman may be
attentively listening for a fresh point of view to help with the head about to
explode issue. Or RantWoman may be so busy trying to keep her head from
exploding that she will seem to be listening poorly. Or RantWoman may be
mentally testing previous experience about who among Friends can be helpful in
the presence of Head about to Explode problems.
Reflections on Holding in the Light from PNQM fal l 2018.
But what does “holding someone in
the Light” really mean? The “inner Light” is one term for that of the
divine in each person, but framing God as “light” and evil or despair as
“darkness” has ugly connotations. At Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting
in fall of 2018, Ellany Kayce encouraged us to move away from metaphors that
pit “light” against “dark,” since this has broader connotations about people
with lighter skin being good and darker skin being evil. This zine opens
a space to think about other ways to describe divine love and clarity and the
ways we care for each other.
The full Zine, in text form.
Example which most closely reflects
what RantWoman remembers saying in response to the query above.
[Image description: a WOW emoji.]
Light can be gentle and healing, or it can be
fierce, like lightning. Sometimes you’re sunbathing and sometimes you get
burned. It’s kind of like the WOW emoji on facebook - you can’t always
tell what kind of clarity you’re going to b get.
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