It has been a long and crazy summer. Renovations ongoing at our house, almost non stop travel and training, including a 25th anniversary vacation trip for Denise and I to Boston, a garden that has underpeformed due to weather, and even more.
I have not written anything for a while. Not that I have not wanted to but my procrastination and schedule has kept me from just sitting down and doing this. I generally do my best writing when something is bothering me or heavy on my mind. My whirlwind summer has not allowed for anything to stay long enough in my grey matter to give me impetus to blog. I have kept up on Twitter and Facebook, since these are short snippit writings.
Now I have some time at home and some sad events have given me motivation to write. I recently found out that an former school classmate passed away from cancer. This was the latest in a recent series of deaths of people I either knew or were close to people I knew. These include the horribly tragic death of fellow teacher Joe McCauley at the hands of his son. Such a tragedy. A friend's mother, my boss's neighbor who was killed by a car in Florida while crossing the street, and several others I found out about.
Those who know me would tell you I am not an emotional person. In fact my daughter tagged me in Facebook picture as "serious". How true! I am not emotional as others are. My emotions tend towards deep thinking and heavy contemplation. I did weep heavily at the loss of my own mother, but it took nearly two years to bubble to the surface. I have not cried or torn my hair or any other displays of emotion over the recent losses. But I have thought deeply about them.
When I go through my own form of grieving it brings to mind a number of deep philosophical questions and challenges. Right now my own mind and heart is wrestling with "What does the future hold for me?" This is where the title of this entry comes from.
CARPE DIEM-Latin for "Seize the day". It comes from a poem by the Latin poet Horace. He tried to express the philosophy of the Greek philosopher Epicurus--"Eat, Drink and be Merry for Tomorrow we Die".
Our lives are finite. Death is the great equalizer. We only have so long on this earth. We better make the best of it. Carpe Diem-Seize the Day. Drain every ounce of life out of today because you do not know when it will be over. You know, Dead Poet's Society and all that!
Ironic that we recently attended a church where the series was "One Month To Live". What would you do if you only had one month to live? Think about it. Would you Carpe Diem? Would you live life to the fullest?
I cannot say I have been great at it, but I have certainly turned my efforts around to live life to the fullest. I try my best to focus on my family and my God and my friends. I try not to focus on my stuff or my tangibles, rather on my intangibles. I hope that all of us do this more and more as we get older.
Did not mean for this to be a downer. These things have been on my mind and the events of the summer have made them more prevalent. So make time for those you love and even for those you hate. Your life will be more complete as a result.
