Eye - 13 February 2015

From peaceful moments to a pleasing listing

by Eye 13th February 2015

Peaceful moments

Let’s hear the sound of silence,
  so take away the noise.
An interval for quietness
  can give you so much joy.
Pause to rest your emotions,
  for the head to unwind.
Pause for reminiscence
  to calm one’s mind.
For time to think is precious,
  the thoughts you think are clear.
That inner peace you feel
  is an attitude tranquil.
For quietness is a tonic
  to heal life’s ills.

Terry Redman

Unexpected edicts

Sally Miles, of Hertford Meeting, got in touch with Eye after coming across ten unusual commandments.

She discovered the list, originally from a local Socialist Sunday School, in the Vestry Museum, Walthamstow. The plaque reads:

‘I. Love your schoolfellows. They will become your fellow workers and companions in life.

‘II. Love learning, which is the food of the mind. Be as graceful to your teachers as to your parents.

‘III. Make every day holy by good and useful deeds and kindly actions.

‘IV. Honour good people; be courageous and respect all; bow down to none.

‘V. Do not hate or offend anyone. Do not seek revenge: defend your rights and resist tyranny.

‘VI. Be not cowardly: protect the feeble and love justice.

‘VII. Remember that all the products of the earth are the result of labour; whoever enjoys them without working for them is stealing the bread of the worker.

‘VIII. Observe and think, in order to discover the truth. Do not believe that which is contrary to reason and never deceive yourself or others.

‘IX. Do not think that he who loves his own country must hate and despise other nations, or wish for war, which is a remnant of barbarism.

‘X. Help to bring about the day when all nations shall live fraternally together in peace and prosperity.’

It ends with a declaration: ‘We desire to be just and loving to all our fellow men and women. To work together as brothers and sisters, to be kind to every living creature; and so help to form a New Society, with Justice as its foundation and Love as its law.’

Working together

On 29 January Esther Rantzen spoke to Andrew Neil on the programme, This Week, about being Jewish in Britain today, available at http://bit.ly/ThisWeekEstherRantzen.

She recalled her Jewish godmother, who joined Quaker relief work and drove an ambulance into Belsen in one of the first civilian parties to arrive in the concentration camp.

‘That’s what Jews do, they try to bring people together. Imagine the Quakers welcoming a Jewish woman to drive an ambulance. We need to work together.’

A pleasing listing

Students of business are gaining an insight into the Quaker decision-making process at Lancaster University.

The module ‘Global Society and Responsible Management’ is part of the university’s MBA course.

It includes a session led by David Boulton, of Brigflatts Meeting, which explores the Quaker decision-making process as an alternative to top-down management.

In the Financial Times World MBA Ranking, published in January, the Lancaster MBA was ranked first in the world for the teaching of corporate strategy.

David said: ‘The listing would please former Swarthmore lecturer Charles Carter, the first vicechancellor of the university, who has a building named after him, next to one named after George Fox.’

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