Weirdest Way I've Been Religious Lately

[amalnahurriyeh]

In the course of mediating an ethically sticky and potentially explosive conflict about a project I'm working on, I ended up explaining what clearness is, because what I really wanted was for all of us to be clear before we move forward. (Faith and Practice of the New York Yearly Meeting, which is my yearly meeting, defines it as such: "A condition in which there are no perceived obstacles to a proposed course of action by an individual or meeting," but it is also a process used to help individuals or groups who are struggling with difficult issues to prayerfully find a way to work through their issues.)

Now I'm curious. Have any of you ever found yourself reaching for a term or framework or concept that's central to an ethical or religious system of yours, that you suddenly realize isn't one that's going to be collectively understood? Which ones?

Comments

[bookblather]

Mindfulness is a big, big one for me. Like, HUGE. I keep having to explain it and not being sure how to.

[starlady]

Trying to explain consensus to people who don't know Quakerism can be really difficult. Ditto for the peace testimony and situations in which holding it conflicts with the U.S. culture of violence (frex, I don't think the campus police should have guns. You'd be surprised how many people disagree with that statement. I was).