carpe diem quam minimum credula postero

"seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow", so says this latin quote made famous by many including robin williams in the well-known silver screen drama "dead poets society". this theme seems to be prevalent in many different forms, emphasising different aspects of the concept. in one of her earlier albunms, sheila majid has a song entitled "tua sebelum waktunya", which describes the stereotypical man who spends his days in the office and nights at clubs, but knows little else. he is woefully short on life experiences and exposure to the many wonders in the world. regardless of the many variations on the theme, the key message of these cries seem to be against mediocrity and conformism.

as i look back on my own life, i realize that i've done what countless many others have done before and beside me. i've gone to school, chosen a safe course of study, come out immediately into a job in the corporate world, found my soulmate (my greatest blessing), gotten married, bought a house, had kids (my greatest blessings too!), started working towards educating them and planning for retirement.

as many around me were and still are, i was a lemming. you know .. lemmings .. the expression used to describe androids, suits, cookie cutter peopple, who are no different from one another, who mindlessly follow the herd, who live in mediocrity, whose ideas of excitement are in the league of choosing a slightly different color of shirt to buy.

WHY??!!! surely, surely, SURELY!!!! there is so much more to life than this!!!

for the strangest reason, the vast majority of the human race seems content (as i was) to live a life where we errect boundaries around our lives, set parameters around "acceptable behaviour", and look to conform to the "done thing". why, oh why is it that we think it always better to choose the "safe" course of action? why, oh WHY, do we think it more enriching to choose the well-trodden way? are not the "unsafe" and "out of the box" decisions that we make the more memorable and soul-enriching ones?

as examples, when we paint a house, do we remember the white or light beige walls that seem to be found everywhere? or do we hold excitedly in our memories our choices to splash bold colors on our "signature walls"?? do we remember better the protons or toyotas that we choose safely drive, or do we remember that crazy, irrational choice of that temperamental italian dream sports car (albeit used and not in all that great a condition!) that we lived with for a short time, even if it fell apart eventually?

so, when we choose how we spend our limited resources, and most importantly, our TIME (which is fleeting!), why would we not choose the path less taken, the avenue less safe, but the experience more memorable? why would we not choose the less normal and the more EXCITING and ADVENTUROUS?? surely we owe it to ourselves to build not tame and drab, colorless lives, but JAGGED and COLORFUL and BOLD lives and memories. with these choices may come not just vivid memories, but also difficulties and challenges and pain. but it is such experiences that tell us that we have LIVED!

i surely thank some friends around me who have unconsciously or otherwise taught me a new philosophy to life ... to live life to the fullest, to say YES to the unsafe, to choose the different path, and to SEIZE THE DAY! you know who you are. :-)

now, if you ever see me going back to being a lemming, slap me.