| This started out as a response to an email forward I received. The message was about Seizing the Day and not letting life pass you by. It turned into the following little dissertation. ------- Would you believe that the greeting on my phone says "Carpe Diem" (Latin for 'seize the day') so that EVERY TIME I LOOK AT IT I remember to do that? I also have a ring with that (Carpe Diem) on it, I've had it since I was a junior in high school, and it's my favorite because it reminds me to live life as I want to. I can honestly say that I have no regrets and it's BECAUSE I live to enjoy myself. I'm not ridiculous about it, I mean I have enough money in the bank for a rainy day and I don't intentionally do things that will interfere negatively with other people's lives, but for the most part, I'm having a great time. If I want to do something, I do - and I try my hardest not to hurt others in the process (although we all know how oblivious I can be at times). Sometimes, seizing the day gets you more than you imagined. A lot of you know about my Paul Simon/Bob Dylan experience last year. I had wanted to see Paul Simon in concert, I found out he was in town 30 minutes before the show started so I headed over to buy a ticket - of course it was just about to start, it was sold out and people were only selling their $90 seats for twice the price. Well anyhow to make a long story short, the most wonderful family gave me a ticket, and they shared their food and beer with me and we had a fantastic evening. I made new friends, had a great dinner, AND saw my favorite living musician all because I just went and did something I wanted to do. Of course, you'll get your down sides, too. Like when you finally get the guts to tell someone that you like them, and have for years, and their reply is nothing more than "Thank you, I'm flattered." Well, at least now you know, and they know too. [Not that I have any experience with this sort of thing!] Or when you join the Peace Corps because you want to help build communities in impoverished African nations, therefore furthering humanity, but they send you to Singapore to assist elementary school teachers with English Education. Well, at least you're helping, just not in the way you want to. In both cases, you did something you wished to do, and so it didn't turn out as you'd like, but you're no longer asking "what if...?" We could drop dead at any minute. Of course, the point is not to live in fear that you're going to die but to be aware that you could do so tomorrow, and if you did, would you be happy with how you left your life? Maybe you're not the billionaire that you want to be, but are you working toward it? Is the argument between you guys over and is there a solution in the works? So you don't have your dream job right now, but are you devising a plan to get it? Have you told your sister you love her? Does your best friend know that they are your best friend? Deal with the tough stuff and then let it go - it's not worth the heartache. Remind your friends how fortunate you are to have them. Buy the shoes. Tell your parents you love them. Eat the ice cream. Take the afternoon off and go to the beach. Every once in a while. I wrote this for you, my friends, to let you know how wonderful it is for me to know someone like you, and so that we don't lose sight of how good life is, at least not for this Wednesday evening. Love.Liz |
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