{"id":315,"date":"2024-06-24T15:51:26","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T19:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/?p=315"},"modified":"2024-06-24T15:51:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T19:51:26","slug":"carpe-tempus-seize-the-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Do you remember all the details of your first day of school? Me neither. Photo by Caleb Oquendo on Pexels.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

First times are, for a brief moment, glorious. First times are the essence of adventure. No matter what you do or experience, given enough repetitions, it can become routine and stale. But, when it\u2019s brand new, the moment can sometimes be overwhelming\u2013in a good way, of course. Of course, the experience of newness, and the memory of whatever experience it was that was new, can be very fleeting.<\/p>\n

I can barely remember the first time I experienced or participated in anything new, except to vaguely recall that it WAS new.\u00a0 <\/span>And exciting because of its newness.\u00a0 <\/span>But of the specific event, I can remember very little.\u00a0 <\/span>First day of school, first haircut, first kiss, first day on my first real job\u2014all of them happened to me, but I can remember very little about any of them.\u00a0 <\/span>Those moments that seemed so immense in their immediacy fade away over time until we are left with only the echo, the lingering scent, the dissipating vapor of what we knew, in the moment, was something special, something special.<\/p>\n

Last times, though; last times always seem to catch us by surprise, don\u2019t they.\u00a0 <\/span>In the moment, we seldom realize that THIS time will be the final time\u2014last hair cut, last kiss, last I love you,<\/i> last birthday cake, last time seeing that movie.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s usually only after it\u2019s over that we realize (if we ever do) that some moment will be the last time we will ever know that particular experience.<\/p>\n

Death is the final \u201clast time.\u201d full of regret for things not said. Photo by Cottonbro Studio on Pexels.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A cousin (by marriage) of mine has just lost her mother to humanity\u2019s common enemy. The passing wasn\u2019t a surprise as she was elderly had been ill for a while. Because of this, my cousin was able to be very intentional about spending as much time as she could with her mother, holding her hand and praying with her and just interacting in any way she could. One of the images from this period in their relationship will endure for the rest of my life, I\u2019m sure. My cousin is stretched out on the bed where her mother is sleeping, unaware for the most part that her daughter is present with her. My cousin\u2019s arm is stretched across her mother and she is simply lying there with her mom\u2014present, making the most of the time remaining, because she understood that this time might be the last time.<\/p>\n

What if we, like my cousin, had known any of our \u201clast times\u201d was approaching?\u00a0 <\/span>Would we have lived those times differently? Better?\u00a0 <\/span>More intensely?\u00a0 <\/span>We have all heard the Latin admonition to \u201ccarpe diem\u201d\u2014but what if it\u2019s not enough to seize the day?\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe days are not granular enough, not fine enough, to realize the essence of living.\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe we\u2019d do better to try our best to seize the time in whatever measure we can\u2014hours, minutes, seconds, to live fully in this now, and then the next now, and then the next.<\/p>\n

American poet and author, Stephen Levine<\/a>, who was known for his musings on death and dying, asks this rather pointed question, which emphasizes the value of the moment, especially in relationships:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul, in Ephesians 5, puts it this way: \u201cAwake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil\u201d (vs. 14-16<\/a>).\u00a0 <\/span>In the next few verses, he elaborates on the difference between just drifting through life experiencing the emptiness of earthly pleasure (symbolized by drunkenness) and experiencing life while filled with God\u2019s spirit.<\/p>\n

We were given today, this moment; what shall we do with it?\u00a0 <\/span>We were given these relationships we value so much but also take for granted so easily. Let\u2019s try naming and claiming our moments for what they are, gifts from God.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s recognize that we aren\u2019t promised another moment, and let\u2019s live this one completely and fully, wringing every last blessing out of it that we can.\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.<\/p>\n

Starting now.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First times are, for a brief moment, glorious. First times are the essence of adventure. No matter what you do or experience, given enough repetitions, it can become routine and stale. But, when it\u2019s brand new, the moment can sometimes be overwhelming\u2013in a good way, of course. Of course, the experience of newness, and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5366,"featured_media":327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60,66,69,63],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-death","tag-first-time","tag-memories","tag-regret"],"yoast_head":"\nCarpe Tempus: Seize the Time!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"First times are special but easily forgotten. Last times tend to linger.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"First times are special but easily forgotten. Last times tend to linger.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Blessed and the Broken\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-24T19:51:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2084\/2024\/06\/pexels-caleboquendo-1244-3877563.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Denton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Denton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/\",\"name\":\"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-24T19:51:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-24T19:51:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#\/schema\/person\/7c75435b90ad1a2703747c10ece43768\"},\"description\":\"First times are special but easily forgotten. Last times tend to linger.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/\",\"name\":\"The Blessed and the Broken\",\"description\":\"Meditations faith and spirituality for the modern seeker.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#\/schema\/person\/7c75435b90ad1a2703747c10ece43768\",\"name\":\"David Denton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fae31b19e51a6c3a54a8adfb1e79f504?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fae31b19e51a6c3a54a8adfb1e79f504?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Denton\"},\"description\":\"I am a former high school teacher (English, history, religion) with a desire to seek and know Truth, so far as it can be known. Besides writing for this column, I enjoy practicing self-therapy through poetry. I\u2019m happily (and mysteriously) married for 34 years, and I have two young adult daughters. I write to challenge, inspire, and encourage\u2014myself, mainly, along with any who might be reading over my shoulder.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/author\/ddenton\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!","description":"First times are special but easily forgotten. Last times tend to linger.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!","og_description":"First times are special but easily forgotten. Last times tend to linger.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/","og_site_name":"The Blessed and the Broken","article_published_time":"2024-06-24T19:51:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":853,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2084\/2024\/06\/pexels-caleboquendo-1244-3877563.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"David Denton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Denton","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/","name":"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-06-24T19:51:26+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-24T19:51:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#\/schema\/person\/7c75435b90ad1a2703747c10ece43768"},"description":"First times are special but easily forgotten. Last times tend to linger.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/2024\/06\/carpe-tempus-seize-the-time\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Carpe Tempus: Seize the Time!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/","name":"The Blessed and the Broken","description":"Meditations faith and spirituality for the modern seeker.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#\/schema\/person\/7c75435b90ad1a2703747c10ece43768","name":"David Denton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fae31b19e51a6c3a54a8adfb1e79f504?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fae31b19e51a6c3a54a8adfb1e79f504?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"David Denton"},"description":"I am a former high school teacher (English, history, religion) with a desire to seek and know Truth, so far as it can be known. Besides writing for this column, I enjoy practicing self-therapy through poetry. I\u2019m happily (and mysteriously) married for 34 years, and I have two young adult daughters. I write to challenge, inspire, and encourage\u2014myself, mainly, along with any who might be reading over my shoulder.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/author\/ddenton\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theblessedandthebroken\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}