Carpe Diem

The phrase carpe diem comes from the Roman poet Horace
Who encourages us ‘to seize the day’, trusting little to the future
Whether this is a wise prescription or not I am not sure
But I suppose the only time that is real, is this present day

The past has gone and cannot be re-written,
The future remains ahead and somewhat unpredictable
Of course we may try to make amends for the past
Anticipate the future and plan for eventualities

And yet I wonder how often our lives are constrained
By worrying over past actions, past words, past failures
And our outlook on the future diminished by fear of the unknown
Thus the present is overshadowed by past regrets and future forebodings

So the wisest approach might well be to live in the NOW
Even although our NOW is largely the outcome of our past
And our view of the future will no doubt colour the NOW
But NOW is still NOW – let’s live it in ‘real time’

Ken Fisher