ZHUZH
It was love at first sight! Zhuzh was the word of the day and arrived in the “word of the day” daily email. Most of you will want to google the word as I did for the proper pronunciation, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zhuzh. The uniquely spelled word (can’t be used in scrabble but can in Words with Friends) and its definition caught my attention. And you know, if it catches my attention, it becomes a point to share with you.
The explanation of the word was “zhuzh is hard to describe exactly, but it’s understood to mean generally making something better.” In my words, zhuzh is taking something good and improving it.
I left the word alone but a few hours later its essence serendipitously resurfaced when I read a quote by poet, Walt Whitman. “If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred.”
The human body is good. No matter the shape of it, it serves one well if oxygen is taken in and carbon dioxide is expelled. How could the human body be zhuzhed – taken to the next level. You have your answer for your body and life already. However, we all need encouragement to do more. When I encourage you – I encourage myself.
I have been graced with more than a reasonable portion of good health. I am thankful for the vitality, clarity, and vibrancy that I enjoy. Life is good. I know that! To preserve what I have now requires small improvements, adjustments, or additions regularly. By regularly, I mean daily and sometimes hourly. Most of the time it is my attitude that needs zhuzhing. A small adjustment of the attitude can be the difference between working out or lying on the couch dreaming about working out.
One of the simplest routes to making a small adjustment to the human body is to cherish and love the skin that you occupy. How? Focus on the loyalty and service that it gives freely rather than what you wish it would do differently. My lower back has a mind that does not align with what I want. I work at not complaining or wishing for the pain to go away. I work at focusing on the reliability of my back to support me. I zhuzh it daily with strengthening and stretching exercises.
PS…The most recent zhuzh…I enrolled in a bootcamp! What are you going to do?
PONDER THIS THOUGHT---Small adjustments are steppingstones for big change.
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