It’s All About Spirit

WED., OCT. 10, 1984, 5:50 AM
WM. PENN, PITTSBURGH

You have been busy, o son, as both a professional and as a helping human being, since We were last together in this teaching/learning mode. You have covered distances, and you have related to many people, with much more relating in store today. You certainly are aware of spirit in all of these encounters, but I shall help you be more appreciative. Shall we be on with the lesson?!

My title exaggerates, of course. The encounters that have made up your life this week have been the expected mixture of all the dimensions of being and not merely spiritual. And spirit has been more evident in some instances than in others. The truth, however, is that the most important aspect of these situations, from My perspective, is how spirit is manifested. I know that this is repetitive, but this is part of My style as an educator.

The value of your Ruminations, as a contribution to the lives of your professional colleagues, has been reinforced. This one on love has been a “winner”, certainly, and you wonder whether subsequent letters shall reach its popularity. Lay aside this concern. You are not writing these in order to receive accolades, recognition, or to achieve a clear-cut purpose. You are writing these as an offering to Me, in the form of an offering I like best – one that benefits others in many ways, particularly spiritual. I am contributing to your “data base”, and then you are using your research and writing skills to create this message, in letter form, one that I like most.

Your goal must not be to achieve more approval of each letter, for even that one that receives the most criticism, or, worse, the least response, is still of much potential value to some. You know what the next one shall be, and you can commence the data collection soon after you return. Then never fear… I shall direct you in the next one also. That one shall come forth in the time of winter.

You can see reinforced that you have a positive reputation among your professional colleagues, and I say again that this is something that I can utilize for My purposes of spirit. You can enhance this by professional contributions, written and verbal, but the most important enhancement is through your spirit, both evidenced and “mentioned”. For example, as you met with the Purdue group yesterday morning you were displaying spirit in just being there and in the ways you responded. You could have added that the spirit of health educators in any setting, and certainly the work setting, is important in “success”. What can they do in professional preparation that could encourage this power of spirit in their graduates? Let this also be a continuing challenge to you. What more can you do to make S.I.U. “products” more loving, caring, “spirit-filled” professionals? Let this week’s experiences goad you to answer this query and to take action therefrom.

You needn’t become a one-track zealot for the spiritual dimension to health and to your professional work, but you must be aware of more opportunities, so that you can decide to contribute in this direction or not. Now you are simply too unnoticing of these chances.