YOUR LIFE A-Z: ZESTFUL

ZESTFUL

ZESTFUL means having a spirited love of life.  Isn’t it awesome that our advent list ends with this powerful word for this CHRISTMAS day? (If you are wondering how we went through 26 letters in 25 days, it is because Advent began on November 30, which made a perfect ending to this A-Z for the holiday.) Today, have a ZESTFUL day.  From the early morning hours of opening presents to the late Christmas dinners celebrate each other.  Be spirited about connecting with those around you and add ZEST to each encounter, making someone else’s Christmas experience brighter.  If you are alone today, this is your opportunity to practice ZESTFULNESS to others.  Get over yourself and get out.  Take water to the homeless or go to a movie and be ZESTFUL with gratitude that you can get out and enjoy your Christmas day.  If you are homebound then call someone and wish him/her a Merry Christmas.  Today is not a day to sit around and feel sorry for your situation.  Today is a day to bring ZEST and to be ZESTFUL.   Use today to make a positive difference in the life of each person you come in contact with.  Practice having a spirited love of life and let your ZESTFULNESS become contagious.  You do make a difference in the lives of all of those around you and you get to choose whether that difference is positive or negative.  Seems like practicing ZESTFUL interactions will make your Christmas day more meaningful.  So with that I wish you a ZESTFUL day of spirited living.  Merry Christmas.

YOUR LIFE A-Z:ZOOM

INNER BEAUTY IS VIEWED BY A ZOOM LENS

ZOOM

No surprise that ZOOM follows the word velocity.  Simple definition of the word ZOOM is to move quickly, to move upward quickly, and to increase speed suddenly.  Using a ZOOM lens in photography allows the photographer to bring a distant object into sharp clarity.   If you use a computer you know that ZOOM is also a tool on your tool bar that allows you to focus on words by making them larger.  In each of these scenarios it is important to use ZOOM in your daily life. If your goal has become too distant, ZOOM in on it and make your goal clear and defined.  If you have slowed down in your progress toward your goal, ZOOM in on it by quickly re-instating its importance.  Re-enforce your goal with ZOOM energy that increases your likelihood of success.  Move upward in your life by ZOOMING in on what you want.  Maybe you need to be myopic for a while, meaning single focused, not allowing anything to get between you and your goal.  Myopic vision is what happens when the photographer ZOOMS in on a picture.  No longer is the viewer able to see the big picture, but the viewer is able to see the beauty of the rose petal with a drop of morning dew on it.  Both pictures are beautiful in their own way.  Enlarging the picture allows you to bring the entire picture into focus, but ZOOMING in allows you to see the microcosmic beauty.  Both are necessary to enjoy fully the moment. Do not be afraid to ZOOM in.

YOUR LIFE A-Z:UNNECESSARY

BE KIND

UNNECESSARY

How much stuff is in your life that is completely UNNECESSARY?   How much chatter is in your head that is completely UNNECESSARY?   Ironically the first question to ask your self to any UNNECESSARY question is,  “Is it necessary?”  If you find yourself answering, “yes.”  Stop and think for a minute.   Really, is it necessary?  When was the last time you used it?  What do you need it for? What do you get out of it?  Learning to toss UNNECESSARY stuff (regardless if the UNNECESSARY is stuff or chatter) is a learned skill for most people.  Rather than make the decision to toss something when you are through using, most people save it for later.  For instance,  “Don’t throw that used jacket away, you don’t know when you might need it?”  But the truth is you hate the jacket and it has a hole in it that makes your feel ashamed to wear it.  Toss it.  It is UNNECESSARY to wear stuff that makes you feel ashamed.  If you can’t afford new stuff, don’t worry.  Thrift stores have awesome deals on great gently used stuff.  However, if you go to a thrift store, buy only what you need.  Just because it is a deal does not mean it is necessary.  Most of the stuff we buy is completely UNNECESSARY.  UNNECESSARY stuff, comments, and inner chatter need to be fully examined and managed in ways that help you feel positive about your environment, actions, and self. If it is UNNECESSARY, it needs to be discarded.

YOUR LIFE A-Z:KIOSK

THE CENTER TELLS THE STORY

KIOSK

The word KIOSK is a Persian word that means a pavilion or garden area that is open on all sides.  That word seems fitting today because many KIOSKS make our life easier.  There are computerized ticket KIOSKS at the airport that move human traffic through the check-in lines much faster. There are breakfast KIOSKS in Europe that make it easy for fast paced train commuters to grab a bite before his/her commute. Magazine and news KIOSKS have been around many years making it easy to purchase something to read and now those KIOSKS suffer due to personal tablets that allow readers easy access to everything and anything they want to read.  KIOSKS make life easier and important needs and information readily available.  Think about your home as a KIOSK.  Organize departments in your home as if each department was a KIOSK.   For example, most of you have your jewelry stored in a KIOSK sort of way.  You open your JEWELRY box, draw, or stand and inside can view and choose your jewelry for the day.  Filing cabinets are your personal KIOSK for important papers, such as deeds, wills, medical information, and anything else that you don’t want to keep just electronically.  One day filing cabinets may go the way of newsstand KIOSK but for now they are still necessary.  Other areas in your home that are easy to KIOSK are your pantry, spices, and kitchen gadgets.  Think if you had a KIOSK for your keys, sun- glasses, and remote you would never have to go looking for any of those items again.  KIOSK your life!

YOUR LIFE A-Z:XENODOCY

GIFTS OF HOSPITALITY AND COMPASSION

XENODOCHY

As the Twenty Minute Coach has said, “X” words are complicated and practical ones are hard to find, but XENODOCHY is a very useful word for each of us to practice. XENODOCHY means hospitality.   It is easy to forget that we are a community on this planet and that we need each other.  Little things like offering a homeless person a bottle of water are an act of XENODOCHY.    A hand gesture inviting someone to take our seat or letting someone go in front of us at the check out line are also acts of XENODOCY.   Practicing XENODOCY on a daily basis is an important value to cultivate in our daily life.   Most of us have been on the other end and needed and act of XENODOCY and remember how awful it felt to be overlooked or not invited to participate in an important event.  Those hurt feelings were very painful at the time.  It does hurt when others do not practice XENODOCY.  Thus think ahead and ask, “What will our guests need while staying with us?”  Be observant to the needs of others around you and ask yourself, “What act of XENOCOCHY can I practice right now?”    Acts of XENODOCHY are important to practice in order to make our world a kinder more positive place to live. We can walk around in a selfish stupor or we can get outside of our individual narcissism and think about what others need and make our world a better place to live.  Be a person of XENODOCY