I was reminded yesterday in meeting for worship of the quote, “What you focus on flourishes.” I’m not sure where it came from but it resonated for me. Where that takes me this morning is musing about the difference between multitasking and monotasking. There have been several articles lately claiming that, in opposition to the model of work where people are expected to accomplish many different things at once, humans are actually more productive—and healthy, if they focus on one thing at a time.

The Buddhists have known this for a long time, of course. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of enjoying each moment, living in the present: “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.”   His words are in stark contrast to the way many people live their lives, rushing from one thing to the next. One day last week I went to three different meetings, one right after the other. At the end of the day I felt exhausted and depleted, although each meeting, taken alone, was worthwhile and should have energized me.

There seems to be a growing awareness, at least in some quarters, that mindfulness practices in schools and workplaces can help people focus and do their work more joyfully and productively, as the work emanates from a centered place within. A friend recently retired as counselor in a challenging school. During her tenure there she introduced mindfulness practices to children in this school, many of whom come from troubled family lives. My friend reported that allowing children the space and time to center quietly at several points during the day made a huge difference in how they functioned in their classrooms. She even heard from a couple of parents that the children were practicing these centering moments at home. They would say something like, “My amygdala is over stimulated right now. I need to take a few moments to center.” Pretty amazing.

For me, the practice of centering down comes through Quakerism and is a spiritual practice, but I am heartened to know that it can be practiced anywhere, regardless of one’s religious beliefs or lack thereof.

I spent the weekend at a School of the Spirit Board retreat. The theme was “Longing.Journeying.Together.” This morning as I continue to enjoy the leftovers from the spiritual feast, my thoughts turn to the question of what I can share from the abundance.

One thing that comes to mind is that drinking deeply from the stream of Living Water replenished my soul, and I will return to the work of climate change activism with renewed strength. I now see my role in that work more clearly. During the retreat, when we considered the question of what we long for as a Board, one participant in the retreat spoke of “creating spaces where [spiritual] longing is both normal and accompanied.” I think she was referring to the fact that our culture rarely allows us to express our deepest longings, but when we do, and more importantly, when we decide to act on them, it is good to have companions on the journey.

Perhaps our work in climate change activism is to create opportunities for people to recognize their own longing for a sustainable world—a world in which their children and grandchildren can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and eat healthy food. Would anyone disagree with this? They may disagree with various strategies for reversing our current course to destruction, but can people of faith join together for helping to bring about the Blessed Community on earth?

In a recent essay, Bill McKibben says that the question he gets asked the most when he goes about talking about climate change is “What can I do?” He says that the problem is with the word “I.” The right question is “What can WE do to make a difference?” “Because if individual action can’t alter the momentum of global warming, movements may still do the trick. Movements are how people organize themselves to gain power—enough power, in this case, to perhaps overcome the financial might of the fossil fuel industry. Movements are what can put a price on carbon, force politicians to keep fossil fuel in the ground, demand subsidies so that solar panels go up on almost every roof, not just yours. Movements are what take 5 or 10 percent of people and make them decisive—because in a world where apathy rules, five or ten percent is an enormous number.”

“The most important thing an individual can do is not be an individual. Join together—that’s why we have movements like 350.org or Green for All, like BlackLivesMatter or Occupy.” * Or EQAT or GreenFaith or any number of local coalitions.

I’m actually a little surprised at where this musing has taken me today. It seems that I have become an activist. But I know in my soul that I am also a contemplative. It was interesting to hear from one of the brothers at the Norbertine Abbey where our retreat was held that the Norbertines have always maintained an active role in the world, along with their daily prayers and spiritual disciplines. I long to maintain both as well. I pray that my actions will be Spirit-led, and that I allow space in my daily routine for listening to that Spirit.

*http://www.ecowatch.com/bill-mckibben-climate-change-2041759425.html

Yesterday was World Quaker Day, celebrating the fact that Friends would be worshiping in each time zone throughout the day, starting with New Zealand, and ending with Hawai’i. The theme for this year was “Inspired by Faith—Witnessing Together in the World.” It was indeed inspiring to see pictures of Friends in many places and to realize the amazing diversity in the worldwide body. However, it raised the question: Given the remarkable diversity among Friends worldwide, not only in the way we look, but in the way we speak and in the ways in which we worship, how do we witness together in the world?

While I recognize that many of the Quakers worldwide were originally brought into the fold by missionary effort, I am aware that many Friends in the U.S. today would rather support programs aiming toward creating peace or building water filters in other places in the world than support those explicitly trying to proselytize. So might “witnessing” include taking action to make the world a better place?

My first encounter with the word “witnessing” was in my Baptist childhood, when I heard missionaries from faraway places speak of saving people for Christ. We were told that we needed to “witness for Christ” everywhere. I came to equate the word with actively trying to “save” people. As an adult I came to reject that concept, and neatly tucked the word away in a box somewhere in my mind. Today I am taking it out and re-examining the word to see what it might mean for me now.

According to my dictionary, the word “witness” derives from Old English “wit,” meaning knowledge. As a verb, the word means “to have personal knowledge of.” To bear witness, then, means to speak from personal experience, which strikes me as an essential quality of vocal ministry in our Quaker meetings today. Our testimonies are a form of witness. In preparing for our meeting’s celebration of World Quaker Day I wanted to find a couple of songs that might be appropriate to the theme. In searching Worship in Song, I found that one of the major categories was “Witnessing to our Testimonies,” including songs about integrity and simplicity, equality, justice, peace, care for the environment, and care for one another.

“Witnessing” can also mean “being present.”   At Quaker weddings we typically sign a certificate as witnesses to the marriage.   We may be called upon in a court of law to tell what we saw or heard in a particular situation. Again, the word relates to personal knowledge or experience. Were you present? What did you see? Tell your story. How often do we speak together about our experience of worship?

One video I watched in preparation for our celebration yesterday was “Friends World Committee on Consultation: Quaker Voices from Around the World.” I was moved by hearing voices in English and Spanish telling of personal experiences in worship. One of those voices was a young woman from Ecuador talking about how much she enjoyed the singing and praise that was included in worship with Friends in Ecuador, but she also had experienced a more silent form of worship in the U.S. and learned that we can “listen to God” in that way.

In today’s musings, I am also recalling a story George Lakey told at FGC Gathering a few years ago. While I can’t remember the details, it seems he encountered a couple engaged in a dispute that was becoming violent. He let them know that he was watching them, witnessing. He didn’t try to stop them but kept reminding them that he was watching. His presence helped to ramp down the violence. How often do we witness acts of injustice in our communities and remain silent?

To witness, then, can mean many different things, but essentially what it means to me today is to allow the Spirit underlying the Quaker testimonies to be visible to others through my actions as well as my words. And I think we CAN do this together.