Carpe diem is living your life with the focus on the immediate present with minimal thought to the future and letting the past go. Eleanor Roosevelt said:
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
How many of us live in our life in that way? How often do we sink our teeth into the moment at hand, savoring and absorbing the moment we are in? Our habits and tendency is to race through the day, trying to fit in as much as we can in one 24 hour time frame. I like to use analogies about food, as food is something we all can relate to. Take a moment to reflect on some of the most delicious foods that tickle your belly and make it smile. How when eating said food or foods you focus on enjoying what you are smelling and tasting. You cannot appreciate your favorite food if you hastily shove it in your mouth and swallow like you are a participant in a hot dog eating contest.
I used to fly through life like no bodies business. Flitting here and there, doing too much of this and too much of that. I rarely focused on the moment at hand because my mind was racing on what was next. I became exhausted, drained, empty, hollow. I was not feeling joy or happiness. I was depressed. It was not good. One day I became sick at how I was living my life and the choices I was making. The time had come to change. The choices I was making, giving my all to everyone around me and leaving scraps for me. I began to carpe diem each day. For a period of time I took time off from social engagements. My focus was my health, my brain, my body. I became a priority. I ate healthier, spent more time working out which included time at the gym and time outdoors going for walks with my fur babies. My sleeping habits improved. I embraced quiet and nothing. I learned to NOT let other people’s sense of time urgency become my problem. I stopped participating in the “I was so busy” competition.
The changes I made were tweaks to my life. Like any change in the beginning it felt uncomfortable. I forced myself to stick with it. To discipline myself to keep on keeping on. The time, focus, and energy spent on making changes in my life transformed me. Yep I became a better version of me. I was grounded, peaceful, serene, confident, happy, and joyous. The work of having my mind focus on the experience I was in helped me to be fully present most moments. This is not something I will probably be able to do 100 percent of the time. It still was a whole lot more than what I had been doing. I listened more and talked less. I was carpe dieming all over the place. My relationship’s improved, my work improved, and I worried a heck of a lot less.
In order to carpe diem you have to be mindful. If you are mindful than you can carpe diem. In an article by HelpGuide on August 19, 2019 “Mindfulness improves physical health. If greater well-being isn’t enough of an incentive, scientists have discovered that mindfulness techniques help improve physical health in a number of ways. Mindfulness can: help relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, , improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties. Think about it. If give you mind the present of presence in the moment the rest of your body benefits!
This morning as I was writing Bella and Harry the fur babies wanted to go out. Often I am up earlier writing this blog. Today I overslept. My daughter is coming home today, and there is still much holiday doings to be done. Behind schedule and a list a mile high. As I let them out I glanced at the sky. It took my breath away. I could have chose to ignore the beauty in front of me and race back inside to type. Nope I decided the writing could wait. I starred at the sky. Vivid stripes of pink, purple, white, grey. The contrast of the trees against this background was glorious. As I was mesmerized by this sight my breathing slowed, my mind became clearer and more focused on what I wanted to write and how I wanted to say it.
Spectacular person you so deserve to enjoy and embrace your life. To carpe diem and be in the moment. How you live your life is up to you. You can make changes that benefit your brain, your body, your life. I believe in you and the power of what you are capable of doing. You’ve got this!
May your carpe diem be with you💜
Photo by Ankhesenamun 96 on Unsplash
