Seize the Day, but Time Flies
Living in the present moment
“Living mindfully means living in the present moment. You are always aware of what is happening within and around you. You are in immediate contact with life”
Siddhartha Gautama — The Buddha
There is no doubt that the ability to live in the present moment is vital. Sometimes, we forget to live in the present: we prefer to look at the past or project ourselves into the future.
Living in the present is a fundamental aspect of our existence, but often we get lost between regrets of the past and anxieties for the future. This behavior can lead us to lose sight of the beauty and value of the present moment.
The past is important because it has shaped us and brought us to where we are today. However, we should not let regrets or remorse drag us into a vortex of negative thoughts.
Similarly, it is natural to think about the future and make plans, but we should not allow worries about what might happen to deprive us of the joy of the present.
The philosophy of “here and now”, often associated with mindfulness and meditation, teaches us to focus on the present moment, welcoming our experiences without judgment. This approach can help us live more consciously and satisfyingly, appreciating the small joys of everyday life and facing challenges with serenity and resilience.
Those who follow the philosophy of carpe diem tell us: “Remember, the past is gone and the future has not yet arrived. All we have is the present, and knowing how to live it fully is one of the secrets of happiness.”
Not even the present actually exists
Unfortunately, the present, what would be worth living, does not exist.
Even you who are reading this are realizing it. In your mind, there is the part you just read. And now it’s already gone… And even this one you just read… And again… it slipped away, just like the moment: carpe diem, sed tempus fugit (“Seize the day, but time flies”).
Moreover, you are surely already projected towards the future, and you are wondering what else will be written in this strange piece. The answer is that we are always between past and future.
The present is only an approximation of modern physics, a sort of average between past and future.
Let’s imagine that there is a man who can only go forward, with the same step, without ever stopping.
Can we know exactly where the man started from?
Yes, it is enough to take his position before he starts moving.
Can we say where he will arrive?
It is enough to get the geographical coordinates of the arrival point.
But if we want to know where the man is right now, problems arise. In fact, at the present moment, he is moving and his position cannot be determined. Every time he gives a position, the man will be a little ahead of it, and we cannot ask him to stop.
So, we will never be able to say that the man is in point x. In reality, when we say it, he will already be in point x + something. We can try to photograph him while he is moving; but even in that case, the position in which the man is portrayed will always be different from the one he was in when we decided to take the picture. His position, his expression, and even the light will be different.
That man is precisely the time we would like to stop. Words are our photograph. The same goes for thoughts.
Time is a river that flows
Time is like a river that flows. And we are on top of that river; our consciousness is on top of that river and can never look at the river from the outside. It is part of the movement of the river, it cannot stop it.
It cannot live without movement, without time.
As for the example of our man, we can know where he comes from, where he is going, but we cannot know where he is at this moment. In short, at the moment he is not in any particular place, he is moving. Let’s try to talk about the present. But now it is no longer present. And not even this one. The present does not exist, because the moment does not exist, in fact, the moment is just a limit concept. For this reason, time passes so quickly and often we don’t even realize it.
Slowing down time
We cannot stop time, but we can slow it down. In yoga, meditation serves to control and slow down the flow of thoughts, in order to slow down psychological time. The apparent unity of the Self is actually made up of an unstoppable flow of thoughts, so that our consciousness is not at all solid and unitary.
We are at the mercy of a succession of unrelated and untameable thoughts that consume our energies and accelerate the passage of time. For this reason, we are scattered, not very focused, we often change mood and attitudes, without real motivation. Instead, by slowing down the flow of thoughts, we become stable, present, concentrated; and time, although it passes equally, is less overwhelming.
If a river flows slowly, it carries away less water than one that flows impetuously towards the mouth. This river is the internal time, we should not consume it too quickly.
If we let ourselves be overwhelmed by psychological time, life becomes a series of moments in which we are not present.
Overcoming the limits of the philosophy of “here and now”
The philosophy of “here and now” (Hic et nunc) if taken dogmatically can be deleterious and could have a very negative impact on our lives.
Although it is essential to live in the present and seize the moment, we cannot ignore the importance of the past and the future.
The past, with its experiences and lessons, has shaped who we are today.
We cannot change it, but we can accept it, learn from it, and use it as a basis for growth and progress. We can better understand why we are who we are and come to terms with our past. Embracing the past can help us overcome our limits or simply accept them.
Our future, on the other hand, is an unexplored territory that offers us infinite possibilities.
Living exclusively in the present, without any consideration for the future, can lead to negative consequences. It is important to have a vision and goals for the future, because they give us direction, motivate us, and push us to act. Planning is an essential element in building a satisfying future and avoiding finding ourselves in difficult or meaningless situations.
In other words, the present is the place where we live, but the past and the future are integral parts of our existence.
The past provides us with lessons and memories, the present offers us the opportunity to live fully, and the future gives us hope and direction. The balance between these three elements is the key to a full and satisfying life.
So let’s remember to honour the past, live fully in the present, and actively build our future.
Latin phrases: Tempus fugit and Carpe diem
Tempus fugit
The complete phrase from which the maxim “tempus fugit” is taken was extracted from a verse by Virgil in the Georgics. Sed fugit interea, fugit irreparabile tempus But it flies away, irretrievable time flies away.
Carpe diem
Carpe diem is a Latin phrase taken from the Odes of the Latin poet Horace. The complete phrase from which the maxim Carpe diem is taken is: Dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero While we speak, envious time will have already fled. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.
Translated from italian article Carpe diem, sed tempus fugit… with the help of ChatGPT — English & Italian Translator
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