(Mountain Flare from Flickr creative commons via photopin)

Z is for Zenith.

Today is the zenith of the Blogging from A to Z challenge.

We have arrived intact at the letter Z. Er, sort of. I didn’t quite manage the letter Y though I had a good one.

Anyway, the word zenith has three definitions:

1. The point directly above the observer.

2. The highest point above the observer attained by a celestial body (hence, the photo above).

3. The highest achievement or culmination.

I came across a cool quote by rapper Lil Wayne that made me think a lot about what it means to be on the path to one’s zenith:

“I ain’t lookin down, but I see no one above me.”

I’m still thinking about this one. I haven’t completely figured out what he means yet, but I feel he’s talking about being at peace with one’s personal journey. He doesn’t need to look down; he’s looking up. (And they always tell you not to look down from a high place.) If there is no one above him, perhaps he has achieved his highest point.

For the third definition above, let’s just say I have passed my physical zenith and am on the way down. Sadly, I cannot jump or run or pick up heavy objects with quite the verve I did twenty years ago (though I still try).

In terms of my writing and my personal goals, however, I absolutely feel I have not achieved my zenith. And that’s a really good thing. It means I get to keep pursuing my zenith. It’s sort of like grasping that elusive truth, and that made me think of this stanza from a poem by one of my favorite poets, Stephen Crane:

“Truth,” said a traveller,
“Is a breath, a wind,
A shadow, a phantom;
Long have I pursued it,
But never have I touched
The hem of its garment.”

As for me, long have I pursued my zenith, and I hope never to touch the hem of its garment. (By the way, did you catch the allusion in Stephen Crane’s poem?) If not, ask me!

What about you? Are you working toward your personal zenith? How’s that going for you?