Many Friends see the SPICEs — the Quaker testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality — as a pathway to achieving a spiritual life. We believe if we practice the SPICEs, we will eventually have a rich and fulfilling spiritual life.
But what if we saw the SPICEs instead as fruits of the spirit? If we developed a rich and fulfilling spiritual life, SPICEs would flow naturally flow from us. We would practice Simplicity because we have removed the obstacles that separated us from God, the Creator, Spirit, the Divine, or whatever we called that which is larger than us. We would live in Peace because we ourselves were peaceful. We would live a life of Integrity because we wanted to live according to the Light that was given to us by the Divine and not Ego. We would treat everyone with Equality because we saw, recognized, and acknowledged That of God in everyone and everything. And we would do this in Community because it is the place where we learn and deepen our spiritual lives together.
I would invite Friends, and anyone else who wants a richer, more fulfilling spiritual life, to re-imagine their SPICEs.