Live in zest to make your life an adventure
WHOEVER BELIEVES ONE NEEDS OCCASIONS WITH REASON TO MATCH A JOYFUL FEELING CAN’T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. EVERY MOMENT IS PREGNANT WITH THE FUN ELEMENT, WE ONLY NEED TO TUNE INTO IT
“Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest.” - Christian Dior
Zest features high on my list of emotions. I cannot imagine going through life on an even, flat, straight line kind of feeling on a daily basis. I like exuberance, I like excitement and I like thrill. So when my children were little, I tried to infuse an element of fun on all special occasions, birthdays, festivals and outings. When they grew up, they took the zest quotient higher.
My daughter would be the first to start and the last to wind up on festivals, be it Holi or Diwali, colours or crackers alike. My son is terrific, wishes everyone ‘Happy Sunday’ with so much gusto one wonders if there is something special this Sunday.
With age, emotions do even out a bit, especially if one is on a self-improvement voyage, but the conditioned or natural nature remains the same. This revelation dawned on me yet again and how!
We were on a family trip to the US. My son and family have moved from a rented apartment to their own house. When we entered the door it had all the trimmings that make a house a home. It’s a big house but not too large as houses in the US tend to be, tastefully and warmly done up with a front lawn and a big backyard. Since my son and daughter-in-law both work and are blessed with two daughters, they do not get time to maintain the yards daily.
Being the beginning of the fall season, the trees were shedding humongous amount of leaves. Our zest trait kicked in and overflowing with energy and enthusiasm, we went to a home depot and bought a whole lot of apparatus to clean the lawn and backyard. I realise that back home we would be calling the gardener to work overtime, but in the US we thought differently.
At daybreak, equipped with gloves and a broom we spent a good three hours raking in the leaves. Then, we set up the propane tank under the table for a hot, sizzling outdoor meal, turned on the sprinkler system and sat back to admire the fruits of our labour.
Whoever believes one needs special occasions with reason to match a joyful feeling can’t be further from the truth. Every moment is pregnant with the fun element, we only need to tune into our zestful capabilities and skills to make life an adventure.
Of course we will not be doing this every day, probably when the novelty wears off, we will also sit back and wait for the guy to come and blow the leaves off the grass but for that one time, there was so much enjoyment in doing the activity. I am sure we will find something else for later.
As Bertrand Russell aptly put it, “What hunger is in relation to food, zest is in relation to life.” So true!