Seize the day! Carpe Diem!

As-salamu alaykum (السلام عليكم), health and wellness friends!

Seize the Day

Click, copy, and share with friends and family members. Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.  -Robert Brault.  Carpe Diem – Seize the day!

Today “Seize the day” comes to mind, or Carpe Diem. Just what does that mean and how does one do it?  Well, it’s another beautiful day here on the Monterey Bay. Blue skies, puffy, white clouds, bright, warm sun. We are grateful for the fresh, clean ocean air. It’s the perfect time to “seize the day!”

People are going holiday shopping, hiking in the mountains, getting haircuts, cooking food, cleaning house, doing laundry, going to church, watching television,  filling out Christmas cards, attending a business meeting, posting comments on Facebook, washing the car, exercising at the gym, flying in an airplane, meditating, and paying bills.  So who is seizing the day and who isn’t? Not easily determined by outer appearances. It is all about listening to ourselves, and not about listening to what is “right” or “wrong” according to some other authority.

Here at the Monterey Bay Holistic Alliance we determined to be seizing the day and accomplishing our goals. But first we have to set goals. Sometimes it’s not easy. It takes continued focus, vision, and discipline, and often rewriting goals or making new ones. So what does it mean to seize the day and how do we accomplish it? Here is what a few people have to say about it.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
― Helen Keller, The Open Door

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.”
― Hans Christian Andersen

“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.”
― Emily Dickinson

“Every man dies.  Not every man really lives.”
― Braveheart

“Do not take life too seriously.  You will never get out of it alive.”
―Elbert Hubbard

“As you grow older, you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.”
―Zachary Scott

“Spend the afternoon.  You can’t take it with you.”
―Annie Dillard

“Dream as if you’ll live forever.  Live as if you’ll die today. ”
―James Dean

So it seems from Helen, Eleanor, Ben, Hans, Emily, Braveheart and the others that “seizing the day” is about spending one’s time wisely and taking immediate action, and one other important quality…enjoyment.  But what gets in the way of us taking immediate action and choosing joy? Sometimes plenty!  It seems the mind plays tricks on us and gets us to do other things rather than focusing on our primary goal…our vision…our dream…our joy.  If we don’t keep focused on our dream, then we never reach it.

Today I saw a video about a vet who lost 140 pounds doing yoga. He had been been a paratrooper and had injured his spine and knees multiple times. He was told by many doctors that he would would never walk normally again and that all physical therapy programs would fail. He succeeded through perseverance and disciplined effort and using a coach to inspire and motivate him. Now gone are the days of the past when he would spend hours sitting on the couch watching television. That changed the moment he made a conscious decision to seize the day!  It wasn’t easy. In the beginning, he fell down, over and over again. But he got back up, because a friend offered a helping hand. He cast aside his two canes and leg braces and is now exercising regularly.  He is enjoying the day, living his life to the fullest, healthy and physically fit.

The truth is that sometimes we need a little help from our friends:  Acupuncturists, nutritionists, holistic health counselors, fitness coaches, Tai Chi instructors, yoga instructors, authors, psychic healers, hypnotherapists, channelers, Reiki Masters, aromatherapists, naturopaths, health practitioners, etc.  Here at the Monterey Bay Holistic Alliance, we are your health and wellness friends and offer a helping hand when needed, providing access to people, events, resources and services that you are seeking.

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
―Robert Brault.

Thank you, Robert Brault.  Carpe Diem! So how will YOU seize the day today? Enjoy our gift to you, this downloadable poster creation from the MBHA.

~Best wishes from your friends at Monterey Bay Holistic Alliance.