1. Are there yams[1] i've eaten in the past day, yams getting cold on the plate?

Posted too early, by accident

bobby1933 asks, "Is this a list that Friends use? How was it created?" It's not from any established list of queries. Pacific Yearly Meeting's set from the latest Faith and Practice can be read online with the associated "advices." For a sense, here is the ninth set, "Integrity and Personal Conduct"

* How do I strive to maintain the integrity of my inner and outer lives?
* Do I act on my principles even when this entails difficult consequences?
* Am I honest and truthful in all that I say and do, even when a compromise might be easier or more popular?
* Am I reflective about the ways I gain my wealth and income and sensitive to their impacts on others?
* Is my life so filled with the Spirit that I am free from the misuse of alcohol and other drugs, and of excesses of any kind?
* Do we, in our Meeting, hold ourselves accountable to one another as do members of a healthy family?

Often Friends will share the sense of a gathering with a letter to the broader community and the queries that came out in the experience. So drafting queries might be a skill one picks up, depending which committees and service one stumbles into.

My set has evolved. I actually had a query practice before i was aware of Friends' practice. I think the first queries i used were from a tarot deck in 2001-ish. I could possibly do some digital archaeology and find those responses. At some other point, i had read about a (possibly Japanese) process of asking daily questions about one's use of time and satisfaction. They were along the line of "Where was time wasted?" "What was frustrating?" and so on. In retrospect, i suspect the article i read was inspired by the business practice Kaizen. Over time i tuned the questions to be more appropriate to my needs. For a some time, i journaled once a week in response to a set of questions, some just an inventory of yes, no, and some wishy-washy middle ground answer. For another period it was an every-evening inventory. I went back to those lists (that i could easily find) and pilfered some from them.

Are there yams[1] i've eaten in the past day, yams getting cold on the plate?

I think i have broken through the procrastination barrier of the past week. I made progress contacting my list of people we are considering as clerks and future clerks of meeting. (So far the folks with whom i have discussed things are far in the future clerks, if ever.) This weekend i will do the very last minute submittal of flex plan financial requests. At work, there are very very late reviews for my team. Very very late. These are set aside as when i was doing them, the reorg happened, and i didn't feel i knew what to say. Now i do.

I'm not setting aside needed time to walk. That's no so much of a yam -- continual maintenance doesn't have yam like properties -- it's just a habit i need to develop. I do note that in the evening if i am not settled, i do go do laps around the pool. At least i'm learning the centering and calming nature of walking as exercise. I do need to get some good ebooks. McPhee's Founding Fish is NOT riveting. It's fine for commuting, but it isn't a temptation for walking and listening.


[1] http://elainegrey.livejournal.com/1041377.html?thread=1116129#t1116129