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Carpe Diem Philosophy The Latin expression carpe diem, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, literally stands for pluck the day. Interpreting it into the contemporary language, carpe diem can be expressed as seize the day. The mentioned dictionary also defines the carpe diem expression as the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future. This philosophy has been a part of all major western philosophies during the last several centuries. It is both interesting and contradicting one, for it has its positive and negative sides. A person can ask him / herself what the greatest day of all is.
It can be the day when the atomic bomb was first dropped, or the day the French revolution revolted. It is quite evident after a thorough discussion that the greatest day is the day when we can share our happiness and joy, when we feel ourselves free and happy, when we can relax and the life at its fullest. If we start to ask when the mentioned day comes, it can be answered that this day can come today. No matter what circumstances are, a human being is always able to exploit the opportunity of choice, to decide that he / she can live for the present moment, and to derive as much as possible from it. In this case a person does things that are not always normally accepted by society, but these things are done because there might be no other chance for them to be repeated.
Probably many people on the earth are deprived of joy because theyve never thought of the carpe diem concept. These people are too unbending to leave their routine and include some joy into their schedule. The Dave Matthews Band quotes, Eat, drink, and be merry. For Tomorrow well die and Eminem's song Lose Yourself has an opening statement that says, Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything youve ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it?
Or just let it slip? These are quotes from todays artists whose music seems to bring people together, despite petty differences. Saying we have to live in the now can be used positively and negatively. Some take seizing the day to mean doing something they have always wanted such as buying their dream car, taking the job they have always wanted even if it pays less, or going skydiving to overcome a lifelong fear of heights. Andrew Marvell seems to use this motif to lure a girl into bed in his 1681 poem To His Coy Mistress. Marvell wants the girl to sleep with him because they might die tomorrow.
He even becomes aggressive, threatens death and says that she will be miserable without having sex with him. Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime. Reluctance to have sex would be no problem with him if there were more time in life. He seems to be manipulating the girl into bed, almost forcing her without physically forcing her. A student from the textbook commented on the nature of this poem. The poem is defiantly clever, and that is part of what is wrong with it.
It is a blatant attempt at seduction. The man seems to think he is smarter than the woman he is speaking to, and he proves that she should go to bed with him. Since we dont hear her side of the argument, Marvell implies that she has nothing to say and that his argument is sound. What the poet doesnt seem to understand is that there is such a thing as virtue, and a woman need not sacrifice virtue just because death is inevitable.
This opinion brings up a good point on living for the moment. Do what you want to do and dont let others influence you into doing something you not ready for. Its your life, your moment, nobody elses. When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with anxiety of what you have to do in the morning or what you should have done earlier that day? Ever worry about how what you have just done might affect your future? Many times when we have insecurities and doubts, we have difficulty focusing on what is happening right in front of us.
Were thinking about what we said to so-and-so, how we could handle this situation differently, thinking about what were going to do if this or that happens, all the while, missing what is happening now. You'd better slow down, then. Don't go so fast. Time is short. When you run so fast to get somewhere, you miss half the fun of getting there. Life is not a race.
Take it slow. Listen to the music before the song is over.
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Research essay sample on Girl Into Bed Carpe Diem Day
