It was long after I evaporated from the habit of going to meeting. Or church as some more forthright religions call their Christian places of worship. But it was worth the wait to learn to sort out mouthings from really useful expressions. There were lots of the former, but my real interest is in the latter. They became a part of my self. So much so that I can only identify two or three at this moment.
One was "conscience". My mother actually used it a lot. She said, "Let your conscience be your guide." At meeting it was rarely spoken. There wasn't much place for the individual even in those kinder days. They were kinder though. Another expression, if in fact it is a single word, used often by the lay preachers, was "lovingkindness". I still use it when I'm thinking, but would never utter it. I'm conscious of being pleasantly old, but still wish to avoid being thought of as archaic. Nonetheless, it's a warm thought which I'm pondering when lovingkindness comes to mind.
Another really important word which rests in the fore of my mind is "stewardship". I understood it to mean that since I'm a temporary resident of this planet I don't really own anything. But I do have a responsibility to behave properly with all those things which aren't really mine. And since I have a conscience, which in my opinion is quite active, I remind myself of this fairly often. Sometimes I find the word "stewardship" in print. And then I am delighted.
In this age of sometimes superficial ecological concern, I wish lots of people thought about stewardship, were pricked often by their consciences, and practised plenty of lovingkindness. Even if they never spoke these silent words.
