Z is for Zion on the last day of the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge

2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge

It's All About the Books

Day 26

April 30, 2013

We’re done for another year, at least on the surface. So are we finished? I doubt it! There are a lot of days left between now and 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge. (And having said that I sure hope it happens again next year!) The blogging challenge is about more than 30 blogs in April. It’s about online communities, and I hope some of you have found one and perhaps made me part of yours. I’d be honored if you have. Now, on to Z.

I don’t know why when I sat down to write the blog for “Z” that Zion came to mind. All my life, Zion has been this mystical, magical place. As steeped in religious rhetoric as Zion is, you’d think someone who believes the spiritual state of Zion would have some problems writing gay romance, wouldn’t you? Obviously that's not the case at all. It's more likely to be at the root of the reason I do write gay romance.

Leaning back in my chair to ponder why the word Zion came to mind provided no insights. The religious connotations aside, it’s not a word one often hears. So I googled it. Well, actually I used Alta Vista just to be different but I’m sure the results were similar. What popped up?
1) The historic land of Israel as a symbol of the Jewish people. (knew it)

2) A place or religious community regarded as sacredly devoted to God. (knew it)

3) An idealized, harmonious community; utopia. (knew it)

I suspect the reason I thought of Zion was the third - the idea of a harmonious community. The notion of living in harmony has a lot of appeal, doesn’t it? What could be better than a world where we’re all free to live and love as we please as long as we do not harm, cause to be harmed, or burden one another? It’s been on my mind lately as I listen to the news. If we can’t get along, we lose the potential for personal greatness.

Smiling at a stranger on the street, holding a door for our elders, and returning the empty shopping cart might not seem to be the building blocks for a personal happy space, but it works for me. I always feel better if I’ve done something that potentially adds to another person’s day. Maybe my personal path to a utopian world of Zion lies in doing little things and not grand sweeping gestures. Those grand sweeping gestures sound exhausting to me and I need to save some energy for writing.

You know, maybe I should blame all this contemplation of Zion on Gene Roddenberry. I did grow up with Star Trek, after all. Life in the Federation had its problems, but it also presented a view of a future where it seemed people understood they had to work together and make nice with one another to make the universe a better place.

I like that idea. I really do.

Make it so.

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com