Per Meriam
Webster, the literal translation of this phrase Carpe Diem is – “pluck the day.”
Enjoying the present sans a thought about the future. Carpe Diem is often
viewed as a lofty phrase, only meant for a certain clan of people – the footloose,
pixies, vagabonds. Good for a tattoo, wallpaper, screensaver, mobile cases, and
statuses perhaps – not really applied in day to day living per se, this Carpe
Diem, you know!
There’s an all new dimension to this phrase now though, with our novel corona virus wreaking havoc globally. Enforced – carpe diem. Enough has been spoken about social distancing, hygiene and cleanliness to keep COVID-19 at bay; which, people all over the world, if not to the fullest, have been following to some extent. Thanks to all the media and the awareness; which we are fed with every day, without a break, at least we know what’s going on and how much we don’t really have control over. The word “tentative” comes to the forefront now, topping the list of words off of the dictionary. Some relative terms include – To be Discussed/Decided (TBD), temporary, until further notice… (Note the ‘ellipses’ in particular).
This brings us to a point where we are all forced to pause and rethink about the way we view life as a whole. Every plan comes to a standstill – wedding, religious gathering, shutdown of institutions, travel plan cancellations, work from home and all the paraphernalia that’s associated with a pandemic situation. The government and organizations have risen up to the occasion and have been urging us to function on a war footing basis – do whatever it takes to eradicate the virus.
There’s only so much you can do and provide guesstimate dates around when things would resume to normalcy. Globally, people seem to be gradually and steadily resigning to the fact that we cannot always be on the move and that cancellations CAN happen; that too because of a microorganism – something that cannot even be viewed by the naked eye!
So lo and behold, that brings us back to the Carpe Diem situation – making the most of the day that’s right in front of us. For a change, globally, we’d all say – “hey, your guess is as good as mine!” This microorganism has thus united us globally, leaving us with a fight, that's for a common cause. So when everyone’s staying home, we just got to do our own thing – sans malling/shopping/cinemas/outdoor activities.
This leaves us all with one important element which we’ve all been running behind. Volumes have been spoken about its lack of being there, lack of being managed properly – TIME! So now, we are left with so much TIME that humans don’t really know what to do with all this ‘saved time.’ The once elusive resource, is now available in abundance. It’s not always that we’re in such a globally connected situation. When there’s tons of it, spend it wisely, with discernment. Gratitude has been a long lost virtue, hence all the saved time is being abused by terming it as boredom. Boredom is for the fickle-minded and social media maniacs. Like how animals go on hibernation, humans must do so too! Get into activities that make us forget the concept of time – simply by doing what we love. This is the time for introspection, family bonding, finding one’s purpose in life rather than complaining about the uncontrollable. It’s going to get us nowhere – we’ll just end up talking in circles! Nurture an “Ikigai” (Japanese concept that means – reason for being) of your choice and enjoy the present as though it were a present. Back to carpe diem – seize the day! Have fun.
Leaving you with a good
old song of the one and only MJ – “Heal the World.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWf-eARnf6U
May we all vow to be better humans, and may we stand in solidarity for world peace and harmony.
This microorganism has thus united us 💯. Again much needed cup from the brewroom 😄 #slurp #tasty.
ReplyDeletethank you so much Hari :)
ReplyDeleteHey Usha it was an awesome article. Yes, I'm finding my purpose in these days. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sandhya! It's good to know that you're already in the pursuit finding your purpose.
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