Monday, April 30, 2012

A to Z Challenge: Z - Zen

Zen

I can't believe Z is finally here. Did you make it? I did. I beat the challenge. I posted every single day, except Sundays, and only once or twice did I post late, on a Saturday.

I won't say a whole lot about my challenge experience today, because that's best saved for the reflections post, coming up on May 7th. For now, I'll just say: it was really nice to meet all you new bloggers!

zen [zɛn] n. a school of Mahayana Buddhism that asserts that enlightenment can be attained through meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition rather than through faith and devotion and that is practiced mainly in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

Synonyms: there are no synonyms, but apparently the word zen is used as a street name for lysergic acid diethylamide

Etymology: school of Mahayana Buddhism, 1727, from Japanese, from Chinese ch'an, ultimately from Skt. dhyana "thought, meditation," from PIE root *dhya "to see, contemplate."

50 comments:

Rebecca said...

hey how cool i use the same word for z

Katie O'Sullivan said...

Congrats on a month of wonderful posts! Happy end of AtoZ 2012!

My Arabic Journey said...

I used the same word too. Cool word. I posted every day too. I will miss it after today. Had fun. Thank you for visiting me before the start of the challenge. That gave me a prod to stay put. Been cool reading you.

Natalie Aguirre said...

What a great choice for Z. And congrats on finishing the challenge.

Li said...

I made it - and after some anxiety-ridden days I need me some zen! :-)

LM Preston said...

Love the word Zen ... can you pass me some too?

JeffO said...

Congratulations! Well done, now take a break.

S. L. Hennessy said...

So wishing I had a little more zen in my life. Nice final post!

Anonymous said...

I am not very Zen. And I hate that you can't use it in Scrabble.

Stina said...

That explains why the challenge is still going on. You guys weren't blogging on Sundays. So I guess that means a lot of bloggers are going on a mini blogging vacation after this. They deserve one.

What does Joshua mean that you can't use it in Scrabble? Is it in the rules????

StratPlayerCJF said...

I think it's verboten in Scrabble because it's considered a proper noun.

Oh, and congratulations on making it through the A-to-Z!!!

Zan Marie said...

I knew you would use Zen today, Matthew! You had a great A to Z! I put up a link to you on my current blog and I'm having fun at L'Aussie Writer where I'm the Z entry. ; )

JE said...

Pass me some zen!

Congrast on finishing the A-Z challenge! I've never done it and I'm always in awe of those who do. ;-)

~JD

Old Kitty said...

Yay for being all Zenned out!!! Well done you! Take care
x

Nancy Thompson said...

These days, zen is often used as an adjective to describe a sense of peacefulness, kind of appropriate for making it to the end of the challenge. Congrats & high fives all around! I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. Whew!

farawayeyes said...

Hah, I could use a little contemplative meditation in my life right now. This was kind of grueling.

I started with A on 4-1 and ended with Z on 4-30 so I hope that means that I made it but I did have two days in there where I used three letters because I missed two days (does that even make sense), so technically I didn't post every day.

Slamdunk said...

Congrats on finishing the challenge marathon Matthew.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Aren't you glad we talked you into being a co-host this year?

Sarah Ahiers said...

This is totally the perfect ending word for you and your A-Z challenge.

Dani said...

I would love to be in a Zen mode all the time. However, doing a to z didn't help.

Carolyn Abiad said...

Congrats on completing the challenge. Learned some cool stuff over here this month.:)

Claire Hennessy said...

Ahhh I am sooo in need of some Zen right now. But I made it! Blogged every day on time (except when I messed up the scheduler, then it was a few hours late) and never missed a letter! How chuffed am I? Also got to meet some fantastic new bloggers. Thanks for co-hosting a great challenge :)

Rick Daley said...

Excellent choice of words with which to close this series, Grasshopper...

Jay Noel said...

We're done!!!!!

Oh, and this is why I chose to nickname my main character Zen in my project (which I'm going to turn into my publisher TODAY).

Great job, man.

Creepy Query Girl said...

yup, I made it. Though whether some of my posts really followed the theme is debatable:)

Lynn Proctor said...

someone described me as zen on time--they didn't know me--great blogs!

Donna K. Weaver said...

I always think "buddist" when I see the word zen.

Congrats on completing the challenge, Matt.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Those swirls make me think of cookies.

Johanna Garth said...

I bet you're feeling very zen now that you've finished the challenge!

J.L. Campbell said...

Made it to the end, but not without a struggle. :) Good final post. Makes me think I need some down time to relax and meditate after the frantic pace I've kept up this month.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I made it too!!Yay! Thanks for co-hosting :-)

Laura S. said...

Hi, Matthew! Woohoo for Z end! Congrats to you and the entire hosting team!!! You all did an awesome job. It's been another super fun Blogging Challenge!

Have a wonderful week and happy A to Z!!

Unknown said...

Congrats on finishing the challenge! Now, does zen = sleep?

TL Conway said...

Congrats on making it to the end!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I have really enjoyed your post and your Z post is no exception.


Congrats on completing the challenge.

Yvonne.

Inger said...

Just stopping by to thank you for hosting the A to Z Challenge. This was my second year and I enjoyed it very much.

Elise Fallson said...

Awesome meeting you too and thanks for hosting the challenge. You rock. (:

Libby said...

Nice to meet you as well!

Nicki Elson said...

You look very zen-like in this photo directly to my right. Congratulations on completing the challenge. Thanks for being one of the illustrious hosts. :)

Steve MC said...

Congrats, dude! Put up your feet and kick back with a big bowl of alphabet soup. Um, no - you've seen enough letters. So just kick back with a big bowl.

Kristen Pelfrey said...

I sure could use some zen moments.
I think you and your co-hosts ROCKED IT, but I will save further comments for May 7.

@ami said...

And you know how a Zen master orders a hot dog... "Make me one with everything."

{ami}
http://sundrysumthins.wordpress.com/

Andrew Leon said...

I am so not zen.

Nate Wilson said...

Although it's not exactly what you suggested, I'll pretend it is: Now that the A to Z is over, I will wind down by watching a montage of The Daily Show's "Moment of Zen" clips.

Anonymous said...

feeling more zen now that I am finished the a to z challenge.

Congratulations and good to meet you.

Unknown said...

I made it too!

Lisa Southard said...

Adding my Thank You to the congratulatory heap! :-)

Wine and Words said...

It feels good to be a success. We put our best effort into the challenges that mean the most to us. I'm glad you finished!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Well, I guess I'm not surprised about the street name. Congrats for making it through!

Shannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Matthew .. well done on finishing - and being zen-like in your approach. It's a great word .. but I'm sure at times has been adulterated somewhat in our western world.

Cheers .. Hilary