So if you want, first glance at the post (and comments) and then come back.
You back? You made yourself coffee too in the meanwhile? Clever thing...
So as you may know, this ubiquitous Latin phrase, which roughly translated means seize the day, is often quoted to express a notion of "don't let life pass you by" and "live life to its fullest". What happens in the West however, is that we assume it gives us free licence. In that, if we follow "carpe diem", we can eat what we want, drink what we want, have sex with... anything, and that we don't have to care about the consequences.
So as you may know, this ubiquitous Latin phrase, which roughly translated means seize the day, is often quoted to express a notion of "don't let life pass you by" and "live life to its fullest". What happens in the West however, is that we assume it gives us free licence. In that, if we follow "carpe diem", we can eat what we want, drink what we want, have sex with... anything, and that we don't have to care about the consequences.
But that's not it. Horace, in the ode from which this phrase is taken, rather urges us to not waste our time on earth. Scale back your long hopes to a short period. A reminder to do today what we would put off until tomorrow because we cannot know if tomorrow will come.
No where does it say, "have a great time and screw everyone else".
In the book I'm reading for yoga teacher training, Georg Feuerstein writes the following in relation to the Bhagavad Gita,
This view has not always been emphasized sufficiently in Western interpretations... If action depended solely on one's frame of mind, it would be the best excuse for immoral behaviour. ... For action to be "whole" (kritsna), or wholesome, it must have two essential ingredients: subjective purity (ie. non-attachment) and objective rationality (ie. moral rightness).
Without getting into the whole issue of non-attachment, this passage does make the point that we must still be moral, compassionate and respectful in every thing we do. It is entirely possible to "live life to the fullest" and still be responsible to those around us, but somehow the true meaning of the phrase has been twisted around in the West.
Perhaps it says something about our lifestyle. Perhaps Westerners feel so bound by the pressures and stress of life in North America (earn more! be skinnier! get rid of that hook nose!) that we instinctively look for "outs" that will free us from our obligations. And perhaps it also says something about our inherent puritanism in that when we want to break free from our lives, it's interpreted as happening through extreme behaviour.
Anyone want to add to the discussion? My mind has been rather wrapped up in these concepts for the last few days and I'm eager to understand it even better.
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This post was crapped out after a relatively crappy incident which I cannot recall. This is why it is so brief, vague and bitter. And I apologize to anyone else going there about the layout of the page, as I apologized to you. Maybe I will have a chance to figure that out this week.
These subtleties are too important to ignore. I really think that they are misinterpreted and cause people to either act inappropriately, or to not act at all.
I wonder how satisfying life would be if you always lived this way. Especially the "taking responsibility" part. I always want to do X, Y and Z right now, but there are not enough hours in the day, or money in the bank. Someone else always needs you to do something for them first. It's confusing to know when you should do what you think you need to do and when you should yield to someone else's needs, whims or weaknesses.
Captcha word is dirappy: 1) Of or pertaining to the performance of one half of a rap duo. 2)Of or pertaining to the effect of, or the phenomenon of dualism in rap music.
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