Carpe diem: a Latin aphorism usually translated to “seize the day”.
4 pm, and storm clouds were looming on the horizon as I loaded the kayak into my pickup truck for the drive to the lake. It was the last day of my “bachelor weekend“, and I very much wanted to get on the water, to take a little “me time” while I had the chance. I’d been aching to try fishing from my kayak for 6 months, but it always seemed to fall lower on the priority list than whatever the “most urgent” of the day was. It was later than I’d planned, due to some other priorities that were higher on the list earlier in the day.
It was getting late
It would take me an hour to get on the lake
It would likely storm
It will get dark soon
Is it really worth the hassle?
Maybe I should just stay home.
Too often in our lives we make excuses to not do things. There’s always tomorrow. There’s something more important. You know the script.
Just Do It
Sometimes, you’ve just got to do it (sorry, Nike, but that is a great line). Don’t wait for retirement to start living your life. Balance life today with life tomorrow. Neither extreme is correct. Carpe Diem is too strong (it’s not ALL about today!), but the opposite is also true. Don’t put off for tomorrow, something you can do today. Enjoy the moment, while balancing the needs to plan for the future.
The lake was great. Wind blew a bit, some spotty rain flew, but it was paradise. I trolled my line out the back, and took a nice leisurely paddle around the shoreline. I listened to birds. To wind. To the waves. I watched the gray sky dance. I relaxed.
In short, I lived just a bit more yesterday than I would have had I made an excuse not to go.
Don’t wake up 10 years later with regrets for things not done. Opportunities not pursued. Lakes not fished.
Carpe Diem. Try it sometime.