Mainstreaming a Different Mainstream

I remember the first time I attended a Quaker Meeting (for Worship) many decades ago just like it was yesterday.

It was an awe-inspiring experience.

I guess maybe when Simon and Garfunkel wrote “The Sound of Silence”, they might have been trying to capture a similarly phenomenal experience.

I am often reminded of this experience — nay, perhaps I even think about it incessantly. Again, just about a day and a half ago.

My own religion is, I believe, much more “universal” than that of the “Religious Society of Friends” (Quakers). [1]

About a day and a half ago, I watched this neato podcast episode with a guy named Daryl Davis. He talked about what he referred to as Five Core Values that Every Human Being Wants.

I don’t intend to pretend to treat these as if they were Holy Scripture, but I do wish to point out that they seem very reminiscent of a core “raison d’être” of Quaker philosophy — namely the notion that there is something of “God” in every human being (and for me, personally I feel there is something like that in every thing, i.e. everything).

In my humble opinion, everything is just about as mainstream as you can get.

If your concept of mainstream seems different, then perhaps that’s just a different kind of mainstream. I have a hunch that there are a bunch of people “out there” who are very willing to tell everyone that their mainstream is the only real mainstream. I listen to that and feel unmoved — sorta chill (maybe a little like Daryl suggests). 🙂

[1] Please note that (as far as I know) there are innumerable “variants” of this approach to religion. Personally, I feel every person should speak only of their own beliefs, rather than attempting to act as if their own belief system were identical to the belief system of any particular organization.