Carpe Diem
To seize the moments…. Carpe diem, a phrase that comes from the Roman poet Horace, means literally "Pluck the day", though it's usually translated as "Seize the day"
We are all moving towards death, all we have are the moments that unfold creating the experiences that roll on towards our last breath. When we die we take nothing. The camel will not fit through the needle's eye. We can not take our riches, our things, our comforts. Only the moments that unfold through the sensory experiences are what matter, all the way to the moment of transition, where we leave all behind us. We only borrow these things, we live on borrowed time, so what does it really matter when we understand that it doesn’t really matter. It all goes!!!!!
Oh Captain, my Captain says it best, as Robin Williams’ plays the professor at an all boys private school in Dead Poets Society…. “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary” He teaches with such passion, that it is a choice to capture greatness as it lives within us all! “Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, ‘Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.’ Don’t be resigned to that. Break out!”
Break Out!!! Seize the Day. Find your Voice. Dare Greatness.
All of this comes with looking fear straight in the eye, knowing that it is between you and fear that opportunity exists. It is true, most will not face their fears and most will certainly not do the work it takes to battle these little demons. Most will stay comfortable.
For centuries before us now, there have lived many men and women. What makes you different? What really changes from generations before us in the human experience? The Stoics teachings still ring true if not truer now, more than ever! The teachings still apply today for a reason, we are not that different from Zeno of Citum, from Socrates, from Plato, from Marcus Aurelius, from Epictetus and from GAIUS MUSONIUS RUFUS!! They have all had their moments of greatness, and sought to be greater.
The only thing we truly own are moments in time. Moments will never be erased. No one can take them away. Moments say I LIVED HERE!!! It is the legacies that we get to leave behind when we share these moments with others.
And who shall we share these moments with? Well, that is for you to decide. It is a sad life to live out such moments alone. Sure, here and there moments with strangers can satisfy the soul. But there is a depth and connection that every soul craves. A depth that knows the Soul is living its purpose, a depth that includes LOVE. These are the moments, Soul moments that share the depth, connection, love and the GREATNESS!
Whether you are seizing or plucking, know that the power of each moment, no matter how it’s done, is that magic of one’s own life while ALIVE and ABLE. Death gives importance and value to our lives, as time is limited. These moments matter.
