What is Z for anyway?

Today marks the end of the 2016 A-Z Blog challenge. I've mostly enjoyed it though it has been, as named, challenging. I love the writing discipline, the alphabetic restriction is interesting and sometimes really annoying, and I'm looking forward to going back to 2 or 3 posts a week. I bet you are, too.

Z is a tough letter. English doesn't have many Z words that quite apply to storytelling. Do you really need to read a strained metaphor about how storytelling is like a zebra? No. So what do I do now? What word do I choose to end this blogging series? What do I want to make of this limited choice?

What this makes me think about, really, is that storytelling is what you make of it. So is life. As storytellers, we get to choose what content we present and how we present it. We get to choose who we present it to and how much we want to connect with them. We get to choose though within some limitations we set for ourselves. So it is, to a different degree with life. While we may not be able to choose our circumstances, the stories within which we live, we have considerable choice about how we respond and who we share it with.

What seems to matter, in the end, is this. Be kind. Be aware of your needs and the needs of those around you. Make your choices and then do the best you can with the results, because that's all any of us can do. The best we can on any given day.

Diligent enthusiasm helps. When we do the best we can with what enthusiasm we can muster, life and work feel less like chores and more like opportunities to do something new, create change, reach for new heights.

Z is for zeal. Tell with intent. Love your audience. Live big.

Thanks for taking this journey with me over April. May your stories both told and lived, soar.

(c)2016 Laura S. Packer