Amid these impatient pandemic days, locked up within boundaries of four walls, I look back into an autumn day in 2019. Those simple moments lived inspired me to take a deep breath and say it out aloud, Carpe Diem.
It was a beautiful autumn day in Jim Thorpe, a small archaic town in Pennsylvania. There was a nip in the air. The colors were bright. Orange, red, and yellow leaves happily fluttered away against the blue sky draped in cirrus and stratus. The old train whistled away into the distance through the Lehigh Gorge. The tender wind stroked the old houses across the street. Friends and families strolled carelessly, and a little kid gazed at the red balloon, up in the air.
We sat inside a café, relishing the moment, taking small bites off the pastry. We talked just about anything or maybe nothing and sipped our coffee —smooth, bold, dark and tall. The strong aroma roused the senses without more ado to say, “Seize the moment.” I held my cup up and how aptly it read, “Carpe Diem.”
Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero – “Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future,”
Augustan poet Horace made the phrase “Carpe Diem” immortal. Saul Bellow won the Nobel for “Seize the day.” The daily chores make us dull. Damn it; the rat race is enervating. The continuum feeding of bizarre news from the media is abysmal. Flood, drought, fire, pandemic, war is everywhere.
You always worry about your ageing parents living several thousand miles away. You remember the deep unsettling eyes of your dear friend fighting the toughest battle of her life, lying in her hospital bed.
Still, there is hope there is another new day waiting for us every morning. In Latin, Beatus ille means “Blessed is he who ….”, albeit it is merely telling us to praise the goodness of the simple life, detached from the war field, grazing over the city life, passing by the mundane drudgery of everyday existence. Just pick the simple ones. Renaissance man’s belief inspired his life Beatus ille, Carpe diem, Locus amoenus, and Tempus Fugit.
Enjoy the simplicity of life. Seize the day or moment. Past you have left behind, the future is not in your hand, but the present is a gift, cherish it. Admire the reality to make it amiable for you and for all that you are part of. And time is running out for you and me, be conscious of it.
I had brought that disposable paper cup back with me as a souvenir. It keeps me inspiring each and every day, peeping out from the cabinet.
Today we are embarking on this journey. All of us at thespace.ink, we are inviting and welcoming all of you to join the ride. Let’s ride together and reach out to one another and relish our simple priceless Carpe Diem Moments.
