Roman Krznaric - Carpe Diem: Seizing the Day in a Distracted World

O N A SUMMER MORNING in 2014, eighty-nine-year-old Bernard Jordan decided to escape. The former British naval officer was determined to go to Normandy to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day landings with other World War II veterans. But there was a problem: he was trapped in a nursing home in the English seaside town of Hove, without permission to travel. What could he do? Bernard came up with a cunning plan. He got up early and put on his best suit, making sure to pin on his wartime medals, then covered his outfit with a gray raincoat and sneaked out of the home. Now free, he tottered down to the railway station nearly a mile away and took the next train to Portsmouth. Once there, he bought himself a ticket for the ferry to France and, on board, joined up with a party of war veterans who took him under their wing for the rest of the trip.

As soon as the care staff realized he was missing, a frantic police search began on the streets of Hove and in local hospitals. But by then it was too late. Bernard was already across the Channel, surrounded by marching bands and dancing girls. I loved every minute of it and would do it again tomorrowit was such an exciting experience, he said on his return. I expect I will be in some trouble with the care home, but it was worth it. I was naughty, but I had to be there.

The story of Bernards great escape took the British media by storm, knocking the sober anniversary speeches by world leaders and royalty off the front pages. The ferry company even offered him free travel to the Normandy beaches for the rest of his life. But Bernard was never able to take up that offer: six months later, he died.

Why did Bernards adventure capture so much public attention? It was not just nostalgia for the wartime spirit or his venerable age. People also admired his courage to seize a window of opportunity that might never come again. The chance was there, and he took it. 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.

Carpe diemseize the dayis one of the oldest philosophical mottoes in Western history. First uttered by the Roman poet Horace more than two thousand years ago, it retains an extraordinary resonance in popular culture. The heavy metal band Metallica has rocked audiences around the world with their song Carpe Diem Baby, while the actress Judi Dench had CARPE DIEM tattooed on her wrist for her eighty-first birthday. Ask someone to spell out their philosophy of life and theres a good chance they will say something like seize the day or live as if theres no tomorroweven if they appear to be trapped by routine or paralyzed by procrastination. Its a message found in Hollywood films like Dead Poets Society , in one of the most successful brand campaigns of the last century (Just Do It), and in the social media hashtag #YOLO (you only live once). Almost every language has an equivalent expression for the original Latin phrase. In Japanese its (enjoy now), while wise Slovak grandmothers advise the young to i naplno (live fully). Carpe diem has been a call to arms for everyone from the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, who in the first century BCE asked, If not now, when? to the Rastafarian sage Bob Marley, who sang out, Wake up and live! If Horace were transported to the present, he would probably be surprised to discover that there is a heaving nightclub in Croatia named Carpe Diem, and dozens of fashion companies with carpe diem clothing linesincluding a T-shirt that commands us all to Carpe That F*cking Diem.

It is remarkable that an expression from a long-dead language generates more than twenty-five million online search results. But just as striking is the fact that while most people can explain what carpe diem means to them, the answer varies greatly from one person to the next. For some, its about that Bernard Jordan attitude of grasping a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yet others associate it with wild, hedonistic blowouts, or immersing themselves calmly in the present moment. This range of responses is reflected in the diverse translations of carpe diem that abound: while usually rendered as seize the day, it is sometimes translated as harvest, pluck, or enjoy the day. We might casually use the term carpe diem when chatting with a friend, but how aware are we of its many personalities hidden beneath the surface?