When the Robin Williams movie “Dead Poets Society” came out in 1989, the phrase “Carpe diem” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec8FOZvcPVM] became all the rage. It means, “Seize the day,” as in none of us is getting out of this world alive – we don’t know when our time is going to be up – it may well be as early as the next instant or tomorrow – and we’d better enjoy it while we can.
I often see similar sentiments posted as Facebook memes, like the following quote attributed to Keanu Reeves:
(The creator of this meme is Audrey Loves Paris, which is embedded very faintly in white on the pink background. I didn’t see this credit line until I enlarged the image.)
It’s a good sentiment to live by, but in the day-to-day shuffle of life, we can forget to seize the day with small things.
I’m thinking of a sweater. This sweater, in particular:
Isn’t it beautiful? It’s all wool and has metal clasps along the front to close it. I got it as a Christmas present years ago from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. My sister-in-law is a fiber artist and enjoys making and sharing luscious articles made of fine fibers.
Here’s the shame of this lovely gift. I’ve never worn it.
It’s too wonderful. I don’t want to wear it and risk spilling on it or sweating in it or in any way sullying it. I’m worried I will shrink it with the first washing and won’t be able to wear it again.
Which means I haven’t had the pleasure of wearing the sweater even once. It’s crazy, I know.
I do occasionally pull it out of its Christmas box on the nightstand and admire it. But that’s not wearing it.
So, that’s my goal in the New Year – to wear the sweater at least once, to seize the Sweater Day.
What sort of small thing have you been putting off doing that results in the exact opposite of “Carpe diem”?