Seize the Day!

"Carpe Diem" is absolutely my favorite phrase. Taken from a poem in the Odes, this translates to "Seize the Day"; and it is the perfect expression to illustrate my life today. It took a long time to get here, and if I hadn't had such strong influences in my life over the past few years, I don't think I could have embraced this thought fully.

If you were to look into this Latin gem a little further, you'd find that in the poem, advice is being given to make the best of today to ensure a brighter tomorrow, because tomorrow is not guaranteed. Death is not something we enjoy thinking about: it's scary, there is an unknown even if you have the strongest of faith or no faith at all, you will someday be forced to give up everything and everyone you hold dear, and you have absolutely no say in the When.

The rest of the phrase that is usually omitted for the sake of simplicity (and the fact that most of us probably can't pronounce the words) is "quam minimum credula postero", which basically says that you can't trust that tomorrow will come, but you can live fully in case it does. If you live every day like it's your last; making positive impacts in the people around you, treating your body like a temple, and pursuing your goals and hobbies with fervor; things will fall into place eventually. The fact that life can end at any second is what makes it so precious, and so scary at the same time. Even if I do everything right, nothing is guaranteed. I could be charitable, loving, never take a risk, drive the speed limit, exercise and abandon carbs...and then not wake up from my sleep one morning. On the flip side, I could be a total asshole and everything might fall into my lap and I could live to be 100.

Every day is a gift to be cherished and also abused; an opportunity to make ourselves better, and the world we live in a better place. Long story short, I woke up at 4am, and I'm excited for what today will bring. Happy Friday!