When I thought of writing this essay it was because yet another person my age had passed away. I was feeling a little bit depressed and wanted to get those feelings out so I could process them. Then I had another thought right on the heels of that: it’s such a Debbie Downer to talk about one’s impending demise, whenever that may be. We all know we’re going to do it someday and brings to mind something Woody Allen said, “I’m not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

So instead of dwelling on the inevitable I thought it might be worth it to dwell on what I could do right now. I mean, after all, we are here and we presumably have a modicum of control over what is happening right this very day. I decided to do what the philosophers have said all along and that is… drum roll, please: Carpe Diem (you know, seize the day).

I’m not going to sweat it so very much. That is to say, I’m not going to run out and buy tickets to Svalbard Island that’s in the arctic ocean by Iceland so I can check off one of my favored bucket list items which is seeing The Northern Lights in all their glory. No, I’m not going to drop everything I’m doing and do whatever is in front of my nose. What I am going to do is drop the grumpiness that I frequently feel because something is not working right and instead, I’m going to err on the side of happiness and contentment with what is going on right now.

That’s a start.

The next thing I’m going to do is not sweat how poor we are and how everything costs so much to the point I feel we have to constantly tighten our belts until we’re blue in the face. No. I’m not going to go hog wild and buy all organic or brand names. What I am going to do is buy the best possible food that I can afford and then I’m going to make the best possible recipe I can find and enjoy what I eat. I’m still going to eat healthily because I have learned that if I don’t then I feel off and feeling off does not contribute to peace and happiness. As an aside right here I add that this takes a little bit of discipline. In truth the return on investment is large.

Then I’m going to remember the things I like to do which are travel, watch good movies (and I mean what I like to watch and that’s it), and finally and maybe most importantly share my life and laughs with my friends and the people I love.

This is something everybody, young and old, can do because we live until we don’t. Right?

“You can’t outrun old age,” he said. “We get a gift. And it’s a gift of uncertain duration. You make of it what you can.” – Jim Shapiro, a 79-year-old teacher in Manhattan, ran across the United States in 1980 and then across Japan in 1986.

Carpe Diem. Carpe every last one as best you can. Anyway, that’s my advice.

So, what I want to know is: how are you Seizing the Day?