Getting a Grip: Seize the Day

Carpe Diem.

A lot of us first heard "Carpe Diem" (seize the day) in the movie Dead Poets Society. It's a great principle—maybe a fundamental principle for those who dare—and it encompasses ideas like:

• don't wait for the perfect moment
• conformity is not required
• live in the now
• "you only live once" (and yes, I know that's a cliché and I hate the acronymification of it as "YOLO," but the implications of that phrase are apt)

As I strive to dare this—as I grapple with each day, trying to get a grip—I find it catalyzing change in me. I find myself wanting things I never allowed myself to want before. I find myself attempting things I never imagined before. I find myself having things I never thought to have before. I find myself living a life that is surprising and exciting, unexpected and exhilarating. Why?

Because I've set aside unwarranted worry about what others think and paralyzing fear about how others will respond. Neither the worry nor the fear are gone—I think that vestiges of them will be with me always—but where once they had primacy in my considerations they are now relegated to the rearmost ranks.

Before, if I wanted something I would hesitate to reach for it, fearful that my hand would be slapped. Now, if I want something I reach out boldly. My hand might be slapped, but so far it hasn't been, and if it should, so what? The lesson isn't "Don't reach for what you want," the lesson is "Don't reach for that particular example of what you want." I've been learning the wrong lesson, but I'm finally getting it right.

My life is changing. Not particularly in noble ways, nor at all in ignoble ways; just changing. Change can be "good," and change can be "bad," but change can also just be change, and that's what I'm experiencing. The changes I'm experiencing are for the most part morally neutral, but they make me bolder, happier, more confident, more comfortable, and more transparent (if such a thing is possible).

So Carpe Diem—Seize the Day... and take a good, firm grip. The more unpredictable the challenges, the more important that grip is. Hang on tight—it might be a bumpy ride—but don't hold back for that reason; the tornado might just take you to Oz.