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John Wooden, college basketball’s most successful coach, died yesterday at age 99. Wooden retired in 1975 and ultimately became viewed as a kind of sage for both basketball and life, a symbol of both excellence and simpler times.

I became aware of him when I joined CHARACTER COUNTS! while living in Santa Fe 10+ years ago. I was impressed with this public personality when I read: Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Here’s John Wooden’s Seven Point Creed, a message given to him by his father upon his graduation from grammar school, which he carried around with him and lived by:
• Be true to yourself.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Help others.
• Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
• Make friendship a fine art.
• Build a shelter against a rainy day.
• Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

[Compiled from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wooden and The New York Times.]

Here is a person who was living his faith to the best of his ability, a wonderful role model especially for the young adults he coached. It seems to me that he was a spiritual person who impacted many, not just due to his sports knowledge and talent, but by being an emissary for God.

Here’s a few more quotes attributed to John Wooden, which impart (to me) his spirituality:

“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

“Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.”

Dear Spirit-
Thank You for the people who point to You by the way they live their life.

Rog is working with a young woman on a business plan for her dream business. After her getting stuck trying to go about drafting it in the conventional way, Rog suggested she come from the place of Spirit.

Isn’t that the solution all the time? To remember and be Spirit in all situations, all conundrums? And, isn’t that who we truly are? We can come straight from the heart. We can relax and be at peace. Creativity flows, questions resolve.

Dear God-
Help me to remember I am Spirit and to carry the qualities of You into all circumstances, all relationships, all the time.

My obsession was all-powerful. Summoning all my resources, I could not dislodge it. Then three simple words did the trick: “Came to believe.” – Anonymous
We were prisoners of our obsessions. No more. Three words, “came to believe,” were the key that unlocked the gates of our personal prison.
When we rely on this power, wonderful and unexplainable things happen. Once this power unlocks the prison gates, anything is possible.
– In God’s Care, June 1

There are many ways we can be imprisoned.

One of my spiritual teachers began his spiritual awakening 30+ years ago while incarcerated. He’d run away from home when he was 13, then landed up in reform schools, jails, and the state penitentiary. This last stop was for a crime he’d not committed, but his hope of ever being released was dismal. Then he had a spiritual experience while lying in his bunk one day. It changed his attitude toward his defense lawyer and from there, miracles started happening. He was set free and his life has been about waking up and service ever since.

With all this teacher went through, he is fond of saying that he prefers his prison to have bars.

Yep, it certainly is easier when I can concretely see how I limit myself. When I was in the throes of my eating addiction, I finally was able to see that it was a symptom of something deeper. When I became open to asking for help, it was the beginning of the process of my release from prison.

When this devout atheist heard that she could choose her own conception of God, then “came to believe,” the key was turned and my prison door unlocked. Since then, relying on a Power greater than myself, I’ve been stepping out more and more from the prison of the ego, something I cannot always see as clearly has the bars of a prison cell, but surely quite as dismal.

Cultivating a close relationship with Spirit, my life has been filled with miracle upon miracle, and my soul has rejoiced. Coming to believe was the answer to my prison release and the beginning of my waking up to The Presence and this new earth.

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? – Corrie Ten Boom

It’s interesting that this quote popped up this week (although I just read it now). On Friday morning, Rog spied a flat tire on his truck that was gratefully sitting in our driveway. And, I learned yesterday that my dear friend Samara, who for business reasons has temporarily traded her life in peaceful Kauai for the city of Miami, had an angry driver slash three tires on her vehicle.

So this quote piqued my interest; I think it is good food for thought…

Do I connect with Spirit for help with my vehicle – my life – just as rarely as when my automobile needs a spare tire? Or, do I let God guide me as I regularly walk through this life and this crazy world?

Prayer is always available to connect us with our Source. It is talking to The Presence, it’s a feeling, it’s an attitude, it’s a thankfulness.

I’m grateful my car rarely requires the spare tire to be used and I’m grateful for letting go and letting God steer my life.

Today’s Daily Word is about the light of God, affirms “The light of God shines through me,” and begins with…

“We have all heard the expression, “God never closes a door without opening a window.” Yet at times I may not see any windows open to me. If I’m seeing only lack and limitation, I look beyond appearances to the Truth. I am the conduit, the passageway, through which possibilities appear. I am actually the window that I seek, and the light of God shines through me.”

Yes, there have surely been times in which I felt doors closing but couldn’t see windows opening. Those were times I really needed to let go, trust, and pray for a different perspective.

However, these days God has graced us with an abundance of doors so much so that I find myself considering which to walk through and which to possibly close myself – with Spirit’s guidance of course.

I know that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle AND I still need to take care of myself. That means being well rested, having time for my ‘formal’ spiritual practice, etc.

During these past couple of weeks, I’ve gotten three new clients. And, volunteer work for an organization has impressed the leadership that they’ve invited us to work with them professionally and for money. I’m regularly spending a bit of time with the pooches at the Humane Society of Sedona. There always seems to be one website project that I’m doing pro bono at any given time. Social invitations from the new friendships forming are on the increase, while longer term friendships beckon for more attention. We are surrounded by the offerings of spiritual-focused seminars and events like Sufi dancing. The community we so yearned for is being woven into a glorious web.

With time flying increasingly at lightning speed, I’m not sure how much more I can put on my plate, how much I can stretch me. So much of this is fun, the people are delightful, and The Presence is evident – a part of me wants to do it all.

I’m certainly not complaining – I am soooo very grateful for this rich life. Still, I need to be discerning where I put my energy, for if I don’t take care of moi, I will not be of much use to anyone else, including Spirit.

So here’s my prayer…

Dear Holy, Beloved Presence-
Thank You, thank You, thank You for the many, many blessings you have graced me with. Thank You for the wonderful people and opportunities you have placed in my life to enable me to wake up, love, and be of service. I welcome Your doors and windows and seek Your guidance and power to carry out Your Will. Show me The Way.