Most of us are familiar with the aphorism “Carpe diem” that translates to “Seize the Day!” And, I can even say that most of us love this aphorism and feel inspired by it! I mean, who is the person that doesn't at least like this phrase? (I intentionally digress -- Can you imagine the person who doesn't like the meaning of Carpe diem? Who is that?) Actually, as soon as I proposed this question, I recognized that I can imagine this person! Someone who is energetically contracted and profoundly struggling with his or her own company might not like this aphorism! Life could be so painful that either s/he would prefer to sleep through the day or at the very least, want to. Or, maybe this person would just avoid the day by being active in addictions, whether it be sugar, carbohydrates, sex, alcohol, mind-fucking or rushing around. This person would probably be just downright plain miserable. Instead of “Carpe diem,” the mantra might be "I can't wait for the day to end.” So, it is clearly possible to be allergic to this popular aphorism. Depression has the power to gobble up the mind and spit out clumps of dark goo on reality so that just hearing “Carpe diem” might trigger a reflex to vomit. To conclude this digression, big compassion for anyone who is struggling to the degree that “Carpe diem” is annoying at best. (Hopefully none of you are feeling that depressed or allergic to “Carpe diem” since you have already read the phrase a ridiculous amount of times in the paragraph above!) Circling back... to the opening statement that most of us know and love this aphorism, "Carpe diem!" As I sat down to write May’s newsletter, wondering what it would be about, I kept hearing "Carpe diem" inside myself. Obviously one doesn't turn away a message like that. So, I looked it up in Wikapedia. This is some of what it said: Carpe diem! Seize the day! is a phrase from a Latin poem by Quintus Horatius Flaccus, more commonly known as Horace. It has become an aphorism and is (65 BC – 8 BC) is popularly translated as "seize the day". Carpe literally means "You pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather, to eat food, to serve, to want", but Ovid, a Roman poet who lived just a decade later than Horace, transformed the use of the word Carpe to mean "enjoy, seize, use, make use of. It is related to the Greek verb (carpoomae) καρπόομαι, (I grab the fruit, profits, opportunity), (carpos) καρπός=fruit of tree, of effort, etc. Diem refers to "day". Thus, a more accurate translation of "Carpe diem" would be "enjoy the day" or "pluck the day -- when it is ripe".
Perhaps the first written expression of the concept is the advice given by Siduri to Gilgamesh, telling him to forgo his mourning and embrace life although some scholars see it as simply urging Gilgamesh to abandon his mourning, "reversing the rituals of mourning and returning to the normal and normative behaviors of Mesopotamian society. In Horace, the phrase is part of the longer Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the next day/future".
In Hebrew, the phrase ?ואם לא עכשיו,אי מתי "(And if not now, Then when?") is similar to carpe diem.
Another similar message in Latin is Nunc est bibendum ("now is the time to drink") from the Odes of Horace: "Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero pulsanda tell us" "Now is the time to drink, now the time to dance footloose upon the earth". (I love that!) (I really like the interpretation "Pluck the day... when it is ripe!" For the past few years, I have been using the word "pluck" as a substitution for the word "died." -- "It feels like people and animals are constantly being "plucked" around me.' And that truly describes my experience. But here, the word is being used as in take the fruit when it is ripe, pluck it and devour it! "Pluck the day!" I love it.) It's one thing to know the aphorism “Carpe diem,” and to love it, and to quote it to others, and to now know its origins, and to write newsletters about it, and to read newsletters about it -- and it is another thing to embody it ~~ to breathe it, to live it, to be aware of living it and to bask in it as if it is sunshine streaming down upon your face throughout the whole day (with suntan lotion on, of course!) Imagine into this with me ~~
The morning light greets you as you open your eyes and there is an immediate remembering... a whispering from deep inside that permeates your whole being from head to toe. “Seize the Day! Enjoy the day! Live it fully!”
All day long, everywhere you go, you hear the whisperings, a beckoning invitation, with everything and with everyone you engage with! “Carpe diem” calls out to you ~~ from the trees you walk by, to the cloud formations when you look up in the sky, to the birds chirping, to the phone ringing, to the cat purring, to the pile of dishes waiting for you in the sink, to your dog barking, to the emails that endlessly eat up time and attention, to the sound of giggling children, to the screaming baby next door, to the ongoing TO DO list, to the traffic at 5:30 in the afternoon, to cozy snuggling with the ones you love , to passionate love~making ~~ on and on ~~ up, down all around.
Carpe diem breathes you, commands you, beckons you, seduces you, into naked raw aliveness ~~ bringing you not only into a heightened awareness that resounds “YES” to all of life experiences, but to reveling, marveling, delighting in the wonder and fascination, and sense of being deliciously entertained, surprised, present, engaged and awake. Just imagine ~~ this state of awe ~~ permeating all of your waking moments! Imagine retiring to your bed at the end of the day, all of the cells of your being fully saturated with a sense of satisfaction and gratitude from feasting all day long and night! Pretty yummy, isn't it? But lets get real, who really lives this awake, this alive, this present, this dazzled all day long? Sometimes we are living it, tasting into it, flowing and sometimes… we are far from it. That's the “up down all around Undivided Uno!” Yet, if we let go of the concept that we need to be happy and feeling good all of the time and instead, we embrace that “Carpe diem” means accepting and embracing “All That Is” as part of the rich tapestry of life, then we can be a lot freer to recognize how alive we are and how magical that is, in and of itself! It can feel and sound something like this ~~
"I am present and with myself as I live this moment and what it brings… and now this moment ~~ and now this moment... I am aware of being fully alive and the grace of being embodied, no matter what is happening. I am connected to myself and whoever I am engaging with ~~ this moment and now this moment and now this moment.The breath breathes me and I am aware, awake, and alive. I embrace this and now this and that and now this... everything -- the up down all around is all part of the opportunity to be present, full and connected with myself, others and the divine essence of All. What is required of me is the depths within me to be present ~~ fully present ~~ ahhhh ~~ to this~~~ moment ~~ to this experience ~~ this… here… don't skip, don’t miss... this... moment... I am talking about this one, Yes, right here... you reading these words... your breath breathing you... you being supported by a chair, or couch or bed or floor... you with cloths touching your skin right now... with you being able to hear the sounds you hear right now... All of This right Now... You Right Here and Now... Seize the moment... Pluck the Now... enjoy the experience of life embodying as you. The continual invitation to be a little bit more aware of your aliveness is happening right now and now and now... So, let's get honest ~~ (it's really about getting real with yourself) ~~ did you pause long enough through the last paragraph to breathe deeper, to read slower, to pause long enough ~~ to be ~~ with ~~ yourself? If not, it's not too late! There is always the next moment! “Carpe diem” is not so much about what you are doing but rather how you are experiencing what you are doing. What is your inner posture that opens you to living fuller?! “Carrpe diem” ~~ It’s not just a phrase, it’s an attitude! So, Gathering in Community, shall we allow ourselves to hear the whisperings, the beckonings, the invitations, of Carpe diem? In the event of sickness, accidents, trauma and loss, people tend to use these experiences to wake themselves up to the preciousness of each day given. This awareness -- this valuing of life -- transforms life from ordinary living to extraordinary experience. Why wait for these challenging times to claim our aliveness? Why not go for it now? And, oh yes, now... and now... and now… Hear the whisperings... "Carpe diem" --- throughout your day, everywhere and from everyone... all day, as a mantra, as food, as drink, as breath... and as you do, the question comes, "Can you love into This? Love This? Love Now? Just a little bit more, opening, allowing, inviting... a lil more love... now...? Click Here To Comment
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