Carpe Diam… Seize the day…
In Chinese High one of my Social Studies teacher, Ms Esther Cheong told us about the concept of Carpe Diam.. sieze the day. We should live today as if today is the last, so that there will be no regret.
I was totally taken in by this and even went to extent of counting the total number of hours there are in my life, assuming I can live up to the age of 70. I looked back and was astonished by how much I have wasted my life away in the past few years. From then on I decided to be productive as much as possible.
When I go into Army I had difficulties adapting. Following orders blindly and doing the things that Army do isn’t really my cup of tea. And all these things don’t exact fit my idea of Carpe Diam. My life is mine and I get to dictate it. I want to spend it productively and not by running in circles and marching around. I want the 2 years to be over fast, but that itself would contradict in another manner of Carpe Diam… 2 years speeding pass quickly means 2 years wasted quickly.
When I got downgraded due to coping problems I was revocated as a clerk. Then I start to see what other people would do whenever they are free - sleep. During offs, they sleep at home. During lunch breaks, they sleep. During office hour, they sleep. When there is nothing to do, they sleep.
I simply cannot comprehend this. To quote author Douglas Adams, “Time is wasted in sleeping”. If you sleep 12 hours a day, you are only awake for 35 years before you die at the age of 70. If you sleep for 6 hours per day, you are awake for 52.5 years, a significant increase. I started to despise sleep. Every single second I spend awake must be spent doing something.
Travelling to me is another perfect waste of time. To counter that I spent huge cash on portable audio gadgets, giving me superb enjoyment on those boring journeys. Psp and iPod Touch are in as well for watching videos and playing games.
Running my own websites, blogging, designing The Wicked, building Gundam kits, playing with remote control cars. Not a single moment is spent without doing anything. If I am not working, I am enjoying.
Fatigue from the lack of sleep sets in. Signs of insufficient rest. I have been living the past 6 years of my life without too much of a rest except for my daily 6 to 8 hours of sleep. I am now tired.
I will be abandoning Carpe Diam, something that had guided me for the past 6 years. Living everyday as if it is the last is simply too tiring, and it gives me no future to look forward to.
I am going to live everyday as if it is not the last. Things must be done correctly and foundation must be set. There is a future to look forward to and that gives me hope. To live like that everyday is to live like a dying man with cancer. There is no future for him. There is a future for me.
Seize the future.
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Maybe you need a break?
Hey buddy…
I’m afraid i would have to disagree with your interpretation of Carpe Diem. The phrase does imply a connotation of living life to the fullest, but i feel that the crux of the phrase is an appeal for one to live passionately, to enjoy every moment of life and to wear your heart at the sleeve, even perhaps at the expense of defying societal boundaries and other external restrictions. Only by doing so can you die at anytime with no regrets, knowing that you have seize the day.
To live like there is no tommorow, however, would be a completely different thing. Is your so-called “enjoyment” necessarily enjoyment in the true sense, as written in your post? Contrary to your arguments on sleep, i would put it to you that if you could have derived a greater satisfication from sleeping (which is quite crucial), then working/hobbying/other activities do not reflect the element of enjoyment in the phrase, carpe diem. You’re also right to point out that obvious disadvantages in living like there is no tommorow, such as fatigue and lack of planning.
i believed that our dearest esther cheong showed us a movie called Dead Poets Society before explaining to us the meaning of carpe diem. It is really quite a meaningful movie so perhaps you might want to watch it again to revisit the concept? In the movie, i think that the likes of Keatings and Perry illustrates the true essence of carpe diem, even though their actions had not necessarily led them to avoiding terrible consequences.
Just some points to highlight about carpe diem and your life here, because carpe diem is still something i believe in. Take care buddy.
I think you mean ‘Carpe Diem’.