Carpe Diem.
We've heard that before. Book after book, movie after movie, they tell us that the key to living life to the fullest is to seize every moment. And when we are told to seize the day, we then hear the infamous saying "Live each day as though it were the last."
I have not given it much thought until now, how living as though it's your last day on earth can do more harm than good. You know how in horror or suspense thriller films, we couldn't help but scream "RUN!" to the character on screen? Or during that post-movie conversations we would say things like "She should have run to the garden instead of locking herself inside the closet. Of course she was caught. Duh!"
We can easily dismiss that by saying it's all fiction anyway, and that if we were in their place we would do something a lot smarter. But did it ever occur to you that when you are faced with death, you literally FREEZE?
Here's the thing. If you knew it was your last day today, would going door to door to each of your loved ones to say "I love you" be your utmost agenda? I doubt it. But you will think of spending all the money on your savings account. Eat all the ice cream you can eat. Finally pull that prank on your boss... heck, why would you even come to work on your last day on earth?
Is THAT how you ought to live your life everyday?
The problem with this thinking is not about acting as if there's no tomorrow. The problem is you're acting as if there will be no consequences for what you do today. What's worse, you won't even seek to accomplish anything that would take more than a day to finish. You will not deal with what it takes to make your dreams come true. Who has the time? It's your last day!
Living your life as if today's your last day brings nothing but fear, sadness and regret. It takes away from us the desire to plan ahead, set goals, pursue dreams. What if your best friend invites you to his wedding. Would you make the necessary preparations or say "Sorry, dude. I'm not sure I can go. What if I die tomorrow?"
Okay, maybe those are exaggerated and silly examples. The point is, what if we consider reversing this process and be well on our way to living our life to the fullest?
First Day High
Imagine the first time you ever tasted what is now your favorite dish in the world? Now think about how you would feel having it for the last time? Do you see the difference?
When I was a kid, one of my crazy thoughts (and I had many!) is that I would wait for my life to "start over" so that I can do the things I want and fulfill my dreams. I don't even know what exactly I meant by that. Perhaps I'm thinking that if God gave me a remote control with nothing but one big REWIND button, I could go all the way back to the day I was born and would do everything differently from day one. Sadly, I never manifested the remote control.
Point is, I think we would all benefit from living our life as though it's our first day, our first time in everything.
Live your life as though it's starting today. If you do, you'll start that project of writing a book or planning for the trip to climb Mount Everest. You'll finally enroll in the dance class or start the hobby you've been putting off. You will start taking the steps to find your dream home.
When you're beginning something, it puts you in a perspective of learning, of starting anew, of looking ahead. You will be looking at things with excitement, with wonder, with amazement. You'll feel thankful for a new chapter in your life.
This is how we ought to live our day to day lives -- with something fresh to look forward to. Today can be the day you choose to quit a nasty habit. Today could be the day you decide to lose the extra weight once and for all. Today could be the day you start the project that would catapult your career. Today could be the day you face what you've always feared and finally overcome it. Today could be the day you let go of your bottled up feelings and tell someone you loved them.
Today should be lived from a place of aiming to accomplish something that impacts your life. After all, doesn't it feel amazing to say "Today is the first day of the rest of my life"?
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