“Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic!”
We sounded the words to the rhythmic clapping of our hands. Faster, faster, faster. Alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! This morning drill formed part of our early morning leaders meeting at Winners Camp, a residential camp for teenagers on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”. As we went off to our daily tasks of shaping the lives and hearts of a troupe of teenagers’ some more privileged than others it wasn’t difficult to be enthusiastic about the day. I remember those seven days with such fondness. And I still remember many of the faces.
I learned a few years ago that the word ‘enthusiasm’ comes from the Greek term entheos, meaning “God within”.
When we can be enthusiastic about something, perhaps it is also an indicator that we are doing what we were meant to; that we are about the things that were set out for us on this earth to do. I find God in the places where I am most enthusiastic.
As another day dawns, am I alert, awake and enthusiastic about the possibilities that lie ahead? And if not, why not?
Dear God, today I invite you into every activity I put my hand and heart to. Thank you for filling me with enthusiasm as I go about the work you set out for me to do. Amen.
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