Zeal aka Enthusiasm aka...

When I hear the word zeal I think of zealot, as in fanatic, so the concept never really connected with me in a positive way until I started to read about Zeal, one of Charles Fillmore's The 12 Powers of Man. According to PowerUP, another book on the 12 powers, by Paul Hasselbeck and Cher Holton, “Zeal is the ability to be enthusiastic and passionate, as well as to inspire and motivate oneself.”

That description resonated much better with me. The authors, who use the terms power and ability interchangeably, use an analogy of a rocket to describe the ability of zeal and how it combines with other abilities.

"Zeal is like the first stage of a two-stage rocket: the burst of energy lifting the rocket off the launch pad. After getting the rocket going, the fuel is spent and the second stage must take over….Our zeal or enthusiasm for something can burn out quickly, leaving things undone. 

This is where the second stage comes into play…. With Zeal we combine a few other Abilities to ensure this second phase kicks in. We use the Ability of Life … that enlivens and energizes whatever we are doing. In addition, when Zeal starts to wane, we must engage the Ability of Strength to stay the course and keep on going….We may also engage Dominion (Power) to control any thoughts or feelings about quitting."

The Ability of Zeal in my life helps me to prioritize my time and energy. My zeal keeps me focused on or getting back to spending time on what’s important to me. I apply my Zeal to answer this question each day: What is mine to do today?

When I lose my way, eventually the reminder comes to me: get back into my spiritual practices. As the years go by I value my time more and more. It’s easy to feel enthusiastic about doing what’s important to me. And I am only willing to spend my precious time on what’s important to me. 

Charles Fillmore assigns one power to each of Jesus’ disciples. He too writes about how zeal needs to be combined with other powers: “As zeal alone, it is without intelligence or discretion as to results. As Jesus taught His disciples and combined their various talents, so every (hu)man must grow in wisdom and zeal.”

A few specific areas I have chosen to focus on throughout my study of the Twelve Powers/Abilities are:

1.  Make time for prayer/meditation daily
2. Accept aging symptoms gracefully
3. Pay attention to how I eat when I travel, eating out, all the time - one meal at a time

Activity two at the end of the chapter on Zeal in PowerUP challenged me to identify ways I can claim and activate the ability of Zeal to help me be successful in the above areas. In particular what affirmations could I write to spur me to action? These are my answers:

1. I love my daily meditation journaling. I will never skip it.
2. My body is amazingly resilient. I heal beautifully.
3. Eating is a pleasure – eating just enough is great for me. Eating treats is okay - fits into my goal.

As I continue to study the 12 Powers, I have grown to love and appreciate all the powers in me and how they each step forward when I most need them – helping me to deal with my life, one situation at a time.

~ JEAN