Carpe diem

Carpe diem is a Latin aphorism usually translated to “seize the day”; and is taken from a poem in the Odes (book 1, number 11) in 23 BC by the Poet Horace.

“And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow: and a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her: Weep not. And he came near and touched the bier. And they that carried it, stood still. And he said: Young man, I say to thee, arise. And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.” – Luke 7:12-15

There was a man who wished to be rich. He said, “If I only had a newspaper published one month in the future, I could get the results of the stock market at that time and could invest in those stocks that will make the greatest gains. Then I will be as rich I wish to be.” Well the next morning, the newspaper was at his door. And to his delight the paper was dated one month in advance. So he went about his research and positioned himself in the market as he had planned, to secure his big score. All that was left to do was to sit and wait, then collect his fortune. However, he being so excited about his impending good fortune forgot that there were other sections contained in the newspaper. He never saw that his name was listed in the obituary.

If I only had more time. If I just had a second chance. I’m sure that we have all wished for either or both at one time or other. Jesus provided both for the grieving mother, out of pity for her. Perhaps he sympathized with her because He foresaw His own mother’s grief over the tragedy that awaited her only son; at Calvary. The man, who would be rich, believed he had realized the dream of many; to control time. And as many, for his own selfish gain. Only to sadly find that time is slave to no man, save one.

The grieving woman and her once dead son now have both more time and a second chance. That time allotted can be used to right any wrong between them or to finish the unfinished. The man who had hoped to be rich has squandered what little time he unwittingly had left, in the pursuit of that which matters to no one, except himself and equally uncaring self-serving heirs. Assuming that he succeeded, he would have been remembered simply for his possessions, and nothing more. For we become what we give our lives to.

“Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these; It might have been.” – John Greenleaf Whittier

Seize the day! Let not a moment of time pass, that we do not put our hand to the plow toward a worthy goal. For everyone’s day will come; and possibly unannounced. Let that day not be devoid of love, nor marked with remorse – over good not strived for or transgressions not reconciled.