Zeal and Zest for Life
Today I am grateful for a relaxing Christmas Day and the simple pleasures of watching two of my holiday favorites: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I am also grateful for the simple pleasures of my son helping make breakfast on Christmas morning and enjoying a cozy fire in our fireplace.
I have enjoyed going through the alphabet and picking words from each letter to give me focus for my gratitude discussion for the day. Like yesterday, I couldn't settle on just one "z" word, so today I close out the 26 days with zest and zeal.
Zest-keen enjoyment, relish, gusto
Zeal-eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something
Three pursuits come to my mind immediately as I write these two definitions: recovery, running, and writing. I thoroughly enjoy all three, though each present their challenges. And that only serves to enhance the zest and zeal. They require commitment, patience, persistence, but I never seem to run out of motivation or inspiration to continue, or if I do it is short-lived.
The heights of zest and zeal for each include:
Recovery-making a healthier choice than I previously made, including how I react and respond to others, getting to witness the growth and wholeness in others who share their recovery with me, a level of faith beyond any I thought I would ever have
Running-crossing the finish line of any road race I run, but most especially marathons and most especially those I finish side-by-side with my husband, the hours after 20-mile training runs when I can just relish in the accomplishment and in being done
Writing-this blog and what it has brought to me as a writer and gratitude practitioner, my first paid and published piece (December, 2010 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Opinion Exchange) and those that have followed, the opportunity to be a guest blogger on two blogs (Pink Ribbon Blues and Nancy's Point) and the recent addition of a monthly column on gratitude in our local newspaper (Hastings Star Gazette)
All of these writing aspects have helped me believe in myself as a working writer, but more importantly, I have been a writer my whole life. The words first saved my life at the height of alcoholism and self-hatred and have since brought clarity, shaped my goals and dreams, and given me a voice I never knew I had.
If you are suffering from post-holiday letdown, are exhausted, feeling disappointed for whatever reason, I encourage you to list the things that you have the most zest and zeal for in your own life.
Write them down. Share with others. Pursue them in this day if possible.
I have enjoyed going through the alphabet and picking words from each letter to give me focus for my gratitude discussion for the day. Like yesterday, I couldn't settle on just one "z" word, so today I close out the 26 days with zest and zeal.
Zest-keen enjoyment, relish, gusto
Zeal-eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something
Three pursuits come to my mind immediately as I write these two definitions: recovery, running, and writing. I thoroughly enjoy all three, though each present their challenges. And that only serves to enhance the zest and zeal. They require commitment, patience, persistence, but I never seem to run out of motivation or inspiration to continue, or if I do it is short-lived.
The heights of zest and zeal for each include:
Recovery-making a healthier choice than I previously made, including how I react and respond to others, getting to witness the growth and wholeness in others who share their recovery with me, a level of faith beyond any I thought I would ever have
Running-crossing the finish line of any road race I run, but most especially marathons and most especially those I finish side-by-side with my husband, the hours after 20-mile training runs when I can just relish in the accomplishment and in being done
Writing-this blog and what it has brought to me as a writer and gratitude practitioner, my first paid and published piece (December, 2010 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Opinion Exchange) and those that have followed, the opportunity to be a guest blogger on two blogs (Pink Ribbon Blues and Nancy's Point) and the recent addition of a monthly column on gratitude in our local newspaper (Hastings Star Gazette)
All of these writing aspects have helped me believe in myself as a working writer, but more importantly, I have been a writer my whole life. The words first saved my life at the height of alcoholism and self-hatred and have since brought clarity, shaped my goals and dreams, and given me a voice I never knew I had.
If you are suffering from post-holiday letdown, are exhausted, feeling disappointed for whatever reason, I encourage you to list the things that you have the most zest and zeal for in your own life.
Write them down. Share with others. Pursue them in this day if possible.
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