Who, or what, are the hijackers? Roman satirist and poet Horace (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images) How the phrase was seizedįirst, the spirit of “seize the day” has been surreptitiously hijacked by consumer culture, which has recast it as Black Friday shopping sprees and the instant hit of one-click online buying – Just Do It has come to mean just buy it.Īlongside this is the growing cult of efficiency and time management that has driven us toward hyper-scheduled living, turning the spontaneity of Just Do It into a culture of just plan it.įinally – and though it might seem counter-intuitive – carpe diem has been hijacked by the booming mindfulness movement. It’s the existential crime of the century – and one that we have barely noticed. The reason? Carpe diem has been hijacked.
The possibilities of radical aliveness are slipping away from us. The challenge, however, is that many of us are losing touch with the deep carpe diem drive that has motivated people such as Bernard Jordan. Immersed in the second-hand pleasures offered by our electronic gadgets, we need to reconnect with the wisdom of carpe diem, a philosophy which calls on us to taste the wonders of experiential living in the short time we have before death.
We live in an age of distraction, where we are checking our phones, on average, 110 times a day, and are more interested in being spectators of life on the screen than living it for ourselves. The message of carpe diem matters more than ever today. Metallica encourage their fans to live for the moment during their gigs (Photo: Mauricio Santana/Getty Images) You can even get T-shirts with the slogan “CARPE THAT F****NG DIEM”. It’s a message found in films such as Dead Poets Society, in one of the most successful brand campaigns of the last century (“Just Do It”), and in social media #yolo (you only live once). The heavy metal band Metallica have rocked audiences around the world with their song “Carpe Diem Baby”, while the actress Dame Judi Dench had “CARPE DIEM” tattooed on her wrist for her 81st birthday. First uttered by the Roman poet Horace over 2,000 years ago, it retains an extraordinary resonance in popular culture. As one person commented in an online forum just after his death: “RIP, am doubly glad he escaped and got to go to the anniversary… carpe diem.” Bernard Jordan waves as he returns to Portsmouth on a Brittany Ferry Not just any old sayingĬarpe diem – seize the day – is one of the most powerful philosophical ideals to have emerged in Western history. People also admired his courage to seize a window of opportunity. Why did Bernard’s adventure capture so much public attention? It was not just nostalgia for the wartime spirit or his venerable age. But Bernard was never able to take up that offer: six months later, he died.
#Who said carpe diem free
The ferry company even offered him free travel to Normandy for the rest of his life. The story of Bernard’s great escape took the British media by storm, knocking the sober anniversary speeches by world leaders off the front pages. “I expect I will be in some trouble with the care home, but it was worth it.” “I loved every minute of it and would do it again tomorrow – it was such an exciting experience,” he said on his return. Bernard was already across the Channel, surrounded by marching bands and dancing girls. Once there, he boarded the ferry to France and joined a party of war veterans who took him under their wing.Īs soon as the care staff realised he was missing, a frantic police search began. Now free, he tottered down to the railway station nearly a mile away, and took the train to Portsmouth. He got up early and put on his best suit, making sure to pin on his wartime medals, then covered his outfit with a grey raincoat and sneaked out of the home. What could he do?īernard came up with a cunning plan. But there was a problem: he was trapped in a care home in Hove, without permission to travel. The former British naval officer was determined to go to Normandy to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings with other veterans. On a summer’s morning in 2014, 89-year-old Bernard Jordan decided to escape. But Roman Krznaric wonders if we’re getting the message Now it’s used to sell trainers, T-shirts and a carefree lifestyle (#YOLO). Carpe diem, meaning ‘seize the day,’ is one of the most powerful philosophical ideals.
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