It’s been hard to glance through a Twitter or Instagram feed in the last two weeks without coming across a tribute to Robin Williams. He gave us something so special, so unique. One of my favorite movies when I was growing up was Dead Poet’s Society. I felt like he was speaking to me as he told his students, pointing at the old black and white photos of previous students in the school’s hall:
“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – – Carpe – – hear it? – – Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”
Carpe Diem are loaded words. They force us to think about what we are doing with our lives – not in some distant future, but right now. What choices are we making?
Are we seizing those unplanned moments? Or are we sticking hard and fast to our scripts, hoping that everything will fall into place in some distant future?
I’ll let you in on a little secret: life never neatly falls into place.
I think this is an important thing to remember. We might script our personal lives like we plan our careers: by age twenty-five we’ll have that master’s degree, by age thirty, an executive title – by age 30 I’ll be married so by age 35 I will have kids. But this isn’t how life happens – according to our schedules. It’s much less straightforward. Most of the time, it interferes.
Carpe Diem is mostly about being aware, being present in this moment. Now is the only time that really matters. Because each moment, we are making a choice: to be angry, to be sad, to be excited, to be grateful. And these choices lead us to opportunities, or prevent us from seeing them altogether. Moments are what make up our lives.
Do you want to be so focused on work that you don’t really take time to have a relationship? Do you want to be so focused on getting married and having children by a certain age that you treat dating like it’s something to “get through” rather than enjoy? There are so many things we want. We will always be wanting, no matter what stage we are in our lives. This is why it’s so important to recognize what is right in front of us, right now.
Instead of being so hung up on the future, always planning ahead, try to enjoy exactly where you are now. Every stage of life is a gift. Maybe it’s time to embrace all of its messy, sad, frustrating and beautiful sweetness.
About Kelly Seal
Kelly is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA. She blogs about dating, relationships, personal growth and what "healthy living" means to her. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter @kellyseal or through her website www.kellyseal.com.
So true Kelly. I can speak from experience that life certainly doesn’t go as planned. I had my whole 20s planned out, and now here I am at 31 and nothing went the way I planned. And you know what? It’s so much better. I’m so glad my life didn’t go the way that I thought it should. Not that there is anything wrong with wanting something. Wanting creates desire, which can create passion when it comes from a good place. Run with it.
Well, you’re preaching to the choir here. My motto is ENJOY EVERY MOMENT. It comes from inspiration from the movie too. Great post! XO
Yeah, just because life doesn’t fall into place doesn’t mean you can’t make the best of it. It took me a long time to learn this. Thanks for your post, Kelly. And thanks for the reminder to seize the day
Kelly, this is a great post! I love how you reminded us that when life isn’t necessarily going to plan, it’s OK! I’ll admit I’ve freaked out about that at times, but now I know how important it is to go with the flow!