Zoom - the challenge went past. It is a bitter sweet feeling to write the last entry of the series. I wanted to come up with the usual assortment of Z words. Aarti asked me last night as to what word we have to blog on today. Usually, I ask her to list the words she knows on each alphabet. She promptly listed a couple of words she knew - Zebra and then Zoop, which she obviously made up. And after a while she said - "You should blog about Zucchini" :-D
So, Z entry it is today. A few years ago, I was visiting a temple in the east coast. While removing my shoes, I over heard two little boys discussing the discomfort of being raised by first generation immigrants. "You know what the worst thing is?" one of them questioned the other - "When they say Zed for Zee" They both made a disgusting face while letting out a mockery of laughter! Zed is how I read it in my first eye exam in the united states - but before I stray too much into how it needs to be pronounced, I'll talk about a few Zs that fascinate me.
Zebra is a master piece of God I think - for the way He arranged the black and white and for the lovely asymmetrical stripes they sport. I was so fascinated by the pattern, that I had to have a zebra patterned leather tote bag trimmed in red the moment I spotted it in the locked showcases of Macy*s.
Zoya is a brand of nail polish (if you aren't aware of it already) that has a zillion polishes in every hue and every finish all named after women/ girls. I love that the company boasts of its all natural formulation and am endlessly charmed by their ability to churn out lovely colors.
Z is for Zenith - the point I feel I am at today, after the successful completion of the A-Z blog. This really broke my block into fine powder. Though, I cannot really say they are of a great quality, I am proud of the fact that this challenge kept me on the go, diverting my energies and attention to something creative, though mediocre.
Finally, Z is for Zen - what is the image that conjures up to your mind when you think of Zen? To me, it always is a visual with glowing candle light amid earth toned surroundings, a soothing fountain and some bamboo motif all tied together with a meditative texture and quality.The word ‘Zen’ is the Japanese attempt at pronouncing the Chinese word ‘Chan’, which in turn is the Chinese attempt at pronouncing the Sanskrit word ‘Dhyana’, which translates as ‘meditation’. Zen teaches us the simplicity of focusing in the moment - since past is bygone and future is a mystery - the present, the very moment we live in, is the one that belongs to us. Zen imparts that very fine art of living, in the moment, in day tight compartments - belonging where we are, enjoying the time we are in without too much focus on what had been or what would be - Imagine, the tranquility that would dawn upon each of us when we master the art of living in the moment, relishing it and absorbing it like a blessing, a gift bestowed upon us from the high heavens.
In conclusion, this has been the most eventful happening of my year so far - the A to Z challenge, like I said before - it opened up my world, my thoughts and my ideas to avenues that I hadn't know to be existing.
Now, the real challenge is to keep up with the challenge of blogging when there is no challenge to obligate you. But may be, just may be - the conscious effort to live in the moment might command the source of inspiration, eternally! :-)
Much thanks to Arpna Singh - the motivation and encouragement behind this lovely journey of alphabets.
