Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
Ecclesiastes 9: 7-9 The Message
Carpe Diem is a Latin phrase meaning, “seize the day”. It was used by the Roman poet Horace to express the idea that one should enjoy life while one can. Long before Horace, the author of Ecclesiastes, who is sometimes called, “The Philosopher”, had already encouraged us to do this.
During this pandemic, Dr. Birx has modeled this attitude in her clothing selections. Despite the gravity of the coronavirus briefings, Dr. Birx always showed up wearing colorful scarves. Although sometimes teased by the media, her manner of dress did bring a bit of visual vibrance to a somber subject.
This attitude of making the most of each and every day, and opportunity, is hardly unique.
A popular post WWII poem in the UK is entitled, “Warning” by Jenny Joseph. It is perhaps better known by its opening phrase, “When I grow old, I shall wear purple.”
Here are the first couple of lines
“When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter…”
In 1998, Sue Ellen Cooper was given a copy of this poem. She was so inspired by it that she founded a society for women over the age of 50. Called the “Red Hat Society”, it now has roughly 20,000 chapters in the US, and more than 30 in foreign countries.
This is the mission of the Red Hat Society:
"We are the women in the red and pink hats. We are the ones enjoying life to the fullest, no matter where we are or what we are doing! We are the mothers, daughters and grandmothers of society. Some may ask, "What do you do?" The answer is... We do exactly what we wish to do."
When we are doing what we wish to do, let our goal be to do it filled with joy. We don’t need to belong to an organization to express the joy that the Ecclesiastics encourages us to portray.
There are days when we most certainly don’t feel joyful. However, I believe that if we attempt to find even the smallest thing that is joyful, it can lead us in the direction of finding the joy and peace this scripture is encouraging us to seek. Each and every day is precious, and we need to live each day believing in this truth.
“Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!”
So, will you make the most of today? Every single one of us can treat each and every day as a gift. Enjoy it! Relish it! Make the most of it. Shout Hallelujah! Amen.
Prayer
Extravagant God,
May we live life to Your fullest, each and every day, treating every morning as a special and holy gift from You! May we clothe ourselves with joy, and not neglect the unique opportunities which come across our path this day, or any day!
In Your Holy name we pray. Amen
