JOIN USEnthusiasm blasts away tiredness, trounces illnesses, outwits problems, makes a yellow spot into a golden sun, renders a grey speck into a shining silver star in a twinkling.
That’s because you’re God when you’re enthusiastic. The ancients called this wonderful vigour ‘en-theos’ meaning ‘god within’. It figures. Think of the divine’s explosive enthusiasm that helped create beings from non-beingness. It’s high octane.
Enthusiasm is soul-energy unobstructed, a surging stream singing, “All things are possible!” All we’ve got to do is listen to it, believe it, act on it. En-theos has a strong voice, a glad voice that always says, “This is just fantastic! It’s absolutely the best thing to do! I’m going to do it, come what may! People will understand why I have to do this, that it’s my kind of thing. I can’t hold back…hhhhere I come!”
En-theos is not always so voluble. Sometimes, the presence of God can be felt in deep passionate doing. Donald Miller writes in his book ‘Blue Like Jazz…’ about how he never liked jazz music. Then, one night, outside Portland’s Baghdad Theatre, he saw a man playing the saxophone. “I stood there for 15 minutes and he never opened his eyes,” records an awed Donald, “After that I liked jazz music.” He muses, “Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.” Adds Donald, “I used to not like God. But that was before this happened.”
So how does one stir En-theos? It doesn’t take much, just a deep willingness to be positive, to bless, to encourage. Here’s how to get going:
- If you’re passionate about something, do it! Not tomorrow, not later, but today, right away. Postponing this great inner awakening is like falling asleep again. No, no, no, make a start! Aside: If you haven’t yet found your piece of passion, it’s cool. Practise being passionate about your fitness. You could get a dance DVD and dance your heart out, for example. Allow yourself to be lifted physically, mentally and spiritually for half hour into a realm of pure joy and perfect health. The advantage of getting passionate about your fitness is: it enables you to look beyond the pain, the stiffness, the emotions, the setbacks, the limitations. And as I’ve experienced personally: exercise is a beautiful activity that makes all other activities feel beautiful.
- Keep that interest awake, that passion alive. Do it again the next day…and the next day… The momentum helps motivation if the latter falters.
nTalk about it to people who respond with wonder, with delight, with people whose En-theos is wide awake and vibrant. When a twig goes near a cheerfully blazing log, the tiny twig catches the fire. Aside: Avoid discussing with discouraging depressives, control freaks, killjoys. You can always infect them with your joy later when you’re a big burning log yourself.
- Know that when you’re rapt, when you’re lost in your thing (like Donald’s musician), the entire universe has bowed and surrendered to you. How so? When there’s only pure doing with no demands, no expectations, you create a great vibrating field of pure grace and surrender.
- When you feel that rapturous tingle, that thrill of passion in your body, oh dear reader, know that’s your god-stream sweeping majestically through you, clearing all debris of the past, pain, fear, sickness, weakness, madness. Leaving a trail shining with beautiful health, peace, sanity, clarity and a big bountiful sense of achievement. As Thoreau capsules: “When we bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen.” They do.
Every day, every moment.
(The writers have penned the book ‘Fitness for Life’. )