Z is for Zeal

People are odd. I find that no matter how long I live or how many folks I meet, I’m always surprised at the sheer differences in attitudes from one to another of them. With just four people in a room, I can experience four completely different views on life, personalities, outlooks and so on. Add ninety-six and I’d have a hundred different outlooks. It really is amazing.

I tend to be drawn toward those with a zeal for life. An eagerness to live, and to find out what’s around the next corner. I have known more than my share of Eeyore type personalities, and I can do without them. If more people understood that your outlook on life can really, really change things, I think maybe there wouldn’t be so many sour apples out there. We make our lives, not the other way around.

People with a zeal for life tend to smile more, they tend to have happier interpersonal relations with other upbeat people, and they tend to feel healthier, both physically and mentally. I’m not just talking out my ass here, either. It has been proven time and again that smiling and positive feelings actually help us as human beings in this life. Good things just happen to people who have zeal. Trust me on that one.

Negative people project negative energy, and they tend to find other negative people in that way. If I had a nickel for every time I have seen a group of people in the corner complaining to each other at a social function, I could probably retire by now. The doom and gloom attitudes of some people are baffling to me. I just wasn’t made that way. I naturally have a lot of zeal for this life, and a lot of energy, and migrate toward positive energy like a mosquito to a porch light. And I find it, every time. Our attitudes are like built-in GPS units, guiding us along. If we are negative and grumpy all the time, guess which paths we are going to take?

I don’t know if it’s possible for these Negative Nellie types to change their outlooks and find a zealous personality, but I imagine it isn’t. Although people have the ability to change certain things, our personalities are pretty much here to stay. I can change my outlook on a whole lot of different things, but life in general really isn’t one of them. A bunch of major, positive changes can really help these people, but it’s up to them to find and implement those changes, so they rarely occur. By the same token, I would need a few horrible events to happen, all in a row, in order to chase my zeal for life away. Sure, it could happen, but I don’t think it will. I love this place. Life is fun, people are fun, experiences are fun. Appreciate the little things, and big things find you.