Zest is a great Z word. It’s also a great word to apply to our marriages. It means passion, relish, gusto! It means an upbeat, positive attitude and a sense of enthusiasm for your spouse, your relationship, and for everyday that you and the one you love have together.
If we greet each day with such enthusiasm, how can we have anything but a positive experience? Don’t let worries, fears, or problems, keep you from enjoying each day you spend with the man or woman you love.
Of course it isn’t possible to always be cheerful and upbeat, but we have to try to make it a more-often-than-not thing. I for one can’t stand those phony, dripping-with-honey people that pretend to be perky all the time, even when things are crashing down around them. That’s not zest; that’s called denial.
I’m talking about being as enthusiastic as possible while remaining grounded in reality. You won’t see me with a big, cheesy grin when someone just totaled my car, but I do try to be uplifting as much as I can. I greet my husband enthusiastically, lighting up with joy when he walks through the door. I’ve actually seen spouses say, “Oh, you’re home,” in a way that makes the person entering look like he or she has just been slapped. I’d turn around and walk back out if that was the way I was greeted. I want to know that the people I love are happy to see me, and my husband deserves nothing less.
The point is we all have difficulties and life gets us down sometimes, but we need to try to count our blessings more often, and be as grateful, positive, and enthusiastic as possible.