“Phil
might have remained an eccentric and disagreeable neighbor but David had
turned him into an enemy, and Julia might have been a breath a fresh air which
blew into his life for a couple of hours once a week to teach him about how to
be a better communicator. Instead, he had transformed her into an object of
desire and stupidly pursued her.”
-
Loathe Your Neighbour ch.26
Zeal is a good thing, and if someone describes you as being
zealous, you would accept the compliment unless it was delivered with a side
order of sarcasm. Why then, I wonder, is it that the word zealot has such
negative connotations? There appears to be one of those invisible lines drawn
somewhere between being zealous and being overzealous, and if you cross that
line you become a zealot and as such, no longer the object of admiration, but
of scorn. David Lavender took the passion and protectiveness he had for his
family and transformed it into a crusade against his neighbor. He became a
zealot, and in so doing, he further antagonized that neighbor, aggravated the
police and annoyed his wife. He took a healthy interest in women, an
appreciation of them, and turned it into a hunt for something to satisfy his
lust. On neither occasion did he realize he was taking things too far, that he
was becoming extreme in his thinking and subsequent behavior, until it was too
late to avoid the inevitable consequences of his actions. Have you ever crossed
the line between passion and zealotry, or are they the same thing?
Zeal you later, everyone. It’s been a pleasure.
Interesting observation. Zealot undoubtedly suggests fanaticism whereas zeal mere enthusiasm. I don't consider passion and zealotry to be the same thing. Nor do I think zeal and passion are the same thing. I see passion as rooted in emotion and zeal rooted in objective. Zealotry also hints at an unwillingness/inability to compromise, and that's one sin I've avoided—I hope.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a pleasure, David. I look forward to reading LYN.
I'm not sure why this turned into such a negative word. Someone has recorded the history somewhere. I went through a period in my younger days where I was overly passionate about my faith. Not that faith has departed, but it was a period where I was 'right' and there was little room for debate. Thanks for visiting my blog. I have enjoyed your humor and comments. Congrats too on finishing the a-z!
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