Seize the Day

Carpe diem.

Seize the day!

A beautiful ancient little ditty we owe to the Roman poet Horace.

“In modern English,” Wikipedia informs me in a reliably scholarly tone, “the expression ‘YOLO’, meaning ‘you only live once’, expresses a similar sentiment.”

The full line which carpe diem opens is lesser known.

“Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow.”

Charming thought it is, it smacks of a reckless homeflight faith I recall from a hymn I once recited regularly at St Joseph’s Church.

“Follow me, follow me, leave your homes and family, leave your fishing nets and boats upon the shore.”

Of course, there is something enchanting and romantic about a ‘live for today, sod the morrow’ attitude.

That’s also the sort of sentiment appropriate to my friend Don and I drinking a bottle of homemade blackberry vodka between us on the 9am boat over to Sark.

Indeed it’s an enchanting attitude, intoxicating even, but simply not sustainable.

I came across a very similar but totally different quote that resonated more deeply with me, from the ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu.

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”

More martial, equally ancient, and less of the pious poet about this one.

The ditty cuts to the quick of an aspect of reality.

We have opportunities, we have things we could do.

Opportunities are literally infinite, giving us a comparably minuscule set of things we can do.

The point is, out of that comparably minuscule set of opportunities, there are some that you should seize.

To seize, according to trusty ole Wiki, is to ‘take forcible possession of something eagerly and decisively.’

Not seize the day – whatever the hell a day entails, potentially day-drinking? – and sod the morrow.

Go all in.

Pour your life energy into an opportunity as if you live only once and have but few – be it in sport or education or love or business.

The beautiful and exciting thing – what seizes me about this quote – is this.

If you take an opportunity, and truly seize the damn thing, then opportunities explode out of it in every direction.

You grab a couple other of those suckers, and suddenly you have more opportunities than you know what to do with.

Fortune favours the bold, who through action make fortune theirs.

Huzzah.