Z Is For Zeal #AToZChallenge

This has been quite a marathon. The A To Z Challenge is finally at an end, and I'm hoping I went after it with zeal. I have to say, I probably couldn't have done it without Alice from Softball Alice. Thank you, thank you, my friend! Cookies for you tomorrow! They are good, I sampled some!

Zeal is a word that isn't used quite as much as it was years ago, but it is still pertinent. Consider these great quotes from those who knew!

"Just as food eaten without appetite is a tedious nourishment, so does study without zeal damage the memory by not assimilating what it absorbs." --Leonardo da Vinci

 

 It is fascinating that the great artist had this insight. Is he saying that studying is really quite useless unless somewhere in the process you become motivated by what you are studying? Wonderful teachers can instill that kind of zeal in a student if they are experienced in their field. Not only do teachers need to have knowledge of what they are teaching about, they also must have skill in imparting that knowledge so that it is interesting on some level. After that, it is the responsibility of the learner to take that knowledge, become absorbed in it, learn it and then make it a part of you! I believe that those kinds of teachers are rare enough. That is why I believe in rewarding skilled teachers. 

 

"I believe that fitness needs to come from within you. You need to respect your body. Only then will you have the zeal to maintain it. For me, keeping fit is a part of my lifestyle." --Arjun Rampal

 

I believe that Mr. Rampal is saying that you need to respect your body more than you love food. That is hard, because food is so good! I don't think that one has to be a glutton to put on a few extra pounds. I eat a fraction of what I used to eat and I exercise every day. But I would not call myself the epitome of fitness. It's hard to respect a body that doesn't respond to the added nutrition and exercise I give it. Maybe I should try harder. But I love to do so many other things. I'm not sure that I deem it worthwhile to devote hours and hours to physical fitness and nutrition when I could be doing other things I also love to do. I know the hard-bodies of the world would disagree with me strongly. But I say life is more than worshiping my physical body. I also have a mind that I love to develop with zeal!

 

"Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal." --Charles Buxton

All I can say is the Kardashians are the epitome of zeal! More power to them!