Carpe Diem!!
… Seize the day!!
I don’t know about you, but I get fired up just saying that. (Hah.)
Today we’ll have fun looking at the ancient Latin roots of the phrase and see how we can apply that wisdom to Optimizing our lives.
So… The Latin phrase carpe diem comes to us via Horace’s Odes written over 2,000 years ago.
(Well, technically, the phrase came to most of us via Robin Williams’s character in Dead Poets Society but he got it from Horace’s Odes. 😃)
But, here’s the thing.
“Seize” the day isn’t quite the best way to capture the essence of the Latin word carpe. Although it doesn’t sound quite as cool, a more precise translation of carpe diem would be to “pluck the day.” As in, pick today off the tree of life—it’s ripe and ready to enjoy!!!
The difference is subtle but significant.
Imagine a ripe piece of fruit hanging from a tree. It’s all juicy and ready to be enjoyed.
We don’t need to “seize” that fruit as if it’s something we need to “take hold of suddenly and forcibly.”
We want to “pluck” it. And then enjoy it.
THAT’s the essence of what Horace is getting at.
Life is preciously brief. Today—and, more precisely, THIS MOMENT!—is something to be enjoyed and lived to its fullest.
So…
Today’s +1.
Pluck the day!!
Eat it like your favorite piece of fruit. Savor every bite.
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