Z is for Zen

April 30, 2015

Day 26

The 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge

Many Sundry Things

We’ve reached the conclusion of the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge. Yep, it’s the last day and the letter Z. I want to thank each of you who stopped by either once or twice, or even every day. Between the Keys is my journal, of sorts. It’s a mix of promo and a conscious sharing of my life. It’s both a simple and faceted view of this writer’s world.  So on to ZEN.

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Z if for Zen

The Buddhists have a word for the search for insight into self and the expression of those insights in daily life, especially to the benefit of those around us – Zen. The word conjures up images of peaceful gardens with fragrant flowers and gently flowing brooks.

Zen is a concept lately come to the western world. Travel to the Far East contributed to its spread as did its acceptance by a few of the peace, pot and Woodstock poets. Zen has a tenet that says we are all originally enlightened.

Anyone who has peered with love into the eyes of a child can believe that. There is a point in life where a child is the embodiment of Zen. They are only truly aware of who they are. They don’t have the words for it, but you can see it in their eyes. They are beings of internal peace. It’s developing an awareness of the world that makes them forget that, but that’s a blog for another time. 

So if as Zen states we all start out in life originally enlightened, does that mean it’s possible to reclaim the enlightenment? Can we, through hard work and steadfast belief, once again become a creature of Zen and peace?

When I was a girl, I had this written on my vanity mirror:

“You are yourself and no one else, and within you is a stillness and a sanctuary where you can be yourself.”

That may be as close to Zen as I can get. 

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Thank you, each and every one, for traveling the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge with me. I hope you'll come back from time-to-time and see what's happening in my world. 

Now when the heck are they going to give us the 2015 Survivor Badge?????

KC Kendricks

http://www.kckendricks.com 

Q is for Quintessential

2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge

It's All About the Books

Day 17

April 19, 2013

This is the third year I’ve participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge and this time around I’ve been concentrating on the books. But the letter Q is a stopper. Q means day seventeen is a bit of a departure. It’s time to get a little philosophical.

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How would you define the quintessential writer? Maybe a better question would be CAN you define the quintessential writer? As the topic of our “Q” blog day, I thought I’d better start with the word itself.

Typing “quintessential” into the search box of the Merriam-Webster online dictionary got me to definition of the root word, quintessence.

1: the fifth and highest element in ancient and medieval philosophy that permeates all nature and is the substance composing the celestial bodies

2: the essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form

3: the most typical example or representative

Ah… philosophy. You can debate with yourself and call it a philosophical discussion and no one will think you’ve tilted over the edge.

So is the quintessential writer one who is the most typical example of her/his craft? One whose writing is of the purest form? Should that writer produce perfect, flawless stories that appeal to a widest possible audience? Or is it one who cares not about fame, but about being part of a bigger whole?

I think the quintessential writer is one who loves and enjoys the craft. It’s an individual who constantly strives to improve herself/himself through the craft. It’s a writer who challenges the reader to learn, whether it’s a trivial fact presented in the text or the inspiration to search for and read available information. It’s a person who understands that through this thing we call the printed word, knowledge is shared and preserved, and people are inspired.

For myself, I like the idea of being an atypical individual who is a typical example of a writer. I don’t kid myself that I’m the consummate writer, or that my stories are masterly or superior. Don’t get me wrong - I think they’re good and apparently lots readers out there agree since they keep buying (and pirating) them. And while I do aspire to be the best writer I can be, but not necessarily the best writer of all time, maybe I’ll never be called the quintessential writer.

But then again perhaps one day someone will say, “she loved writing for the joy of it,” and I don’t think it could get any more quintessential than that.

KC