Seizing the Day
If you fast-forward to this century, seizing the day has been changed. If you spend any bit of time with someone under the age of thirty, you will most likely hear the acronym "yolo" come from their mouth. Older people, presumably with grey hair, may be left scratching their heads. They could be left pondering if the younger generation of today hasn't learnt how to speak. What they may not realise is "yolo" is the modern day version of "carpe diem."
You Only Live Once
Canadian rap artist Drake through his song "the Motto" made the acronym for the phrase "you only live once" popular. The popularity of this motto can be seen through the use of the hashtag "yolo" on social media. American actor Zac Efron got a tattoo of the "yolo" acronym. Along with the praise and popularity of this short, straight-to-the-point acronym comes negativity. An article by the Huffington Post focusing on this acronym pointed out concern for people's actions, and encouragement of bad behaviour.
Seizing the Day Sensibly
There's nothing wrong with seizing the day. It can be fun to do something adventurous in life you wouldn't normally do, simply because you only live once. We just need to be sensible while we are young. 1 Timothy 4:12 states "don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." The danger comes when people don't take care when living in the moment.
One Day You Will Die
Sometimes by living in the moment, accidents can occur. A harmless, innocent activity could lead to something that could affect the rest of your life. On the other hand, seizing the day could end with you dying. With the reality of death in life, it's no wonder people would want to seize the day. Genesis 15:15 reminds us "you, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age."
Living Life to the Full
Not everyone in life will die at an old age. This possible reality too will push people to seize the day. We shouldn't live our lives in constant fear of death, and dying before we reach an old age. Yes, we should make the most of our lives while we are young. This is when we are in our healthiest and most active time of life. While we are living life to the full, we just need to take caution. As the English proverb says, "it's better to be safe than sorry."
Natalie Van Egmond from Brisbane is a journalism graduate.
Natalie Van Egmond's archive of articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/natalie-van-egmond.html