Carpe Diem Again

#RepeatWeek

"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." - John Keating

Carpe Diem, an interesting phrase generally meaning "seize the day." It comes from a Latin poem written by Horace that has become sort of a statement of principle for many people.

It is generally translated as "seize the day" and literally it means "to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, or gather", but Publius Ovidius Naso (better known as Ovid) used it to mean, "To enjoy, seize, use, make use of".

In Horace's poem, the long version is "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero", meaning to "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future." His intent was to say that our future is uncertain and we should limit our hope's to a shorter future. In some respects he was speaking to people and business leaders who think short term goals or just the next quarter, so "drink one's wine."

In modern culture I would argue the quote describes its use best. "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary", meaning to use each and every day to do something great.

Do not waste a single day waiting for the next; choose now, not later.

Move life forward, find your dreams, have a great and 'extraordinary' life.

The future exists but you have to move towards it. To sit idle and allow the future to find you means it will only find you in the same place, sitting idle.

You have the ability to impact your own future.

You can impact your own future.

Seize the day, folks. Make your lives extraordinary.

Stay inspired my friends.

Never Give In Again

#RepeatWeek

"Never, never, never give in." - Winston Churchill

The above quotation is often mis-quoted as "...never, never give up." The quote came from a speech that Winston Churchill gave at his old school called Harrow School on October 29, 1941.

In the speech he said, "This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

England had been suffering through the German Blitz from September 1940 to May of 1941. The German military had tried to break the will of the British people and a massive amount of destruction and terror had rained down upon England. By October of 1941, the British were certainly weary but not defeated.

Winston Churchill gave his speech in the dawning light of survival from Germany's attempt to defeat that will the British people struggled to maintain. It didn't work and his speech was an affirmation to all that regardless of how tough things are, "never give in" to the destructive forces you are up against.

An old adage about not looking at the ground but up and forward.

One could say that if the British looked down they saw rubble and destruction. But when they looked up all they could see was the smoke and falling bombs of German war planes. Neither was very inviting.

Yet I believe they saw through the smoldering flames.

They saw the blue sky piercing the blackened air. At night, they searched and found twinkling stars peering back at them. They found solace in the beauty of the universe giving them hope and strength.

If your life is being pulled down into the dirt by forces unknown. If life is blackening your sky. Remember you can push through by looking for and holding onto even the smallest bits of hope. A bright star in the night sky that catches your eye, a brilliant sunrise, or the smile from a stranger.

Even when it seems all might be lost, "never give in - never give up."

Stay inspired my friends!

What Of Spilled Milk

"There's nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming taxpayers won't cure." - Dan Bennett

Short and sweet today...it is tax season and I have just recently completed this annual ritual. It is normally not too bad and I see it as just one of those things in life that needs to be done.

The days of being carefree and knowing my father would take care of it are long gone. I think back and forget at times just how good it was during that period of my life. Not too many things to worry about in those early days.

Life continues and we finish school, get a job, and buy a house. There are school loans to pay, maybe we start having kids, investments and things change. yes, life moves forward and it makes us wonder if all this is worth it.

Well it is.

Life does get better as we move forward and at the same time life seems to get more complicated. It is all part of the process of living. There is an idiom, "death and taxes are the only two guarantees in life." Maybe it is a good thing to just accept it now.

Resolve to know this and choose to live your life to its fullest.

I can not make taxes go away. I can not keep death from occurring. What I can do is live my life doing all those things which make it a great life. Connecting with other people, giving and making their lives great.

Doing so makes my life great.

I try not to sweat the small things or the things which are insignificant in the grand scheme of life. My suggestion to you is to not allow those things to get in the way and consume the greater parts of your life.

If you do not it will leave less time to enjoy what matters most; family, friends, love and being part of our time before death occurs. Don't get me wrong, earning money, raising children, taxes and all these things are important.

But know the little arguments we have with each other, the person cutting in line on the freeway or spilled milk are just things getting in the way of enjoying life.

Do not cry over these things.

Wipe up the broken pieces and move on. Forgive the other person or yourself and move on. Smile with grace and move on from the small things. Death and taxes might be inevitable, but so is a great life if you allow it into your world.

Stay inspired my friends!

What Your Shadow Reveals

Gao Xingjian's silhouette and his shadow, Marseille, 2003.

The attitude we project outwardly is something we fail to acknowledge or understand at times. We might think inside we are a happy go-lucky, upbeat person. But people who meet us might just perceive us as dour and uninviting.

Nearly all of us check our appearance.

As human beings we normally check to to see what our outward appearance is like. We might pass a window and catch a glimpse of how we look from time to time. Many use a mirror to see if our hair looks good, if our clothes are on straight and check that our general appearance is good.

Some of us have probably looked at another persons appearance and made a determination about them. You might assume a disheveled person is unorganized and maybe think a well dressed person successful. Like your mother told you "be careful not to judge a book by its cover" for they may not be what you think on the outside.

What does your shadow reveal?

While many worry about our appearance, we never seem to examine what is inside, our attitude or how it projects who we are to others. Think of your shadow, reaching out from some point of connection to you. There is no escaping from it. When you move, your shadow moves. When you change direction, your shadow changes direction.

Our attitude is like our shadow. It follows and mimics everything you do. It is a reflection of who you are. The good thing is we can change, our attitude does not have to be a permanent reflection of us.

Our attitude can change to be whatever we want it to be.

Hopefully your change is towards something that is good and inspiring to others. And while your shadow follows you every where, your attitude will be doing the same. Others will see and make judgments based upon your attitude.

Let your attitude cast a positive shadow on them. And stay inspired my friends!