Another saying that doesn't mean what you think it does

This is such a popular phrase, CARPE DIEM. It was actually the motto for my high school class and I used to have a poster of the Northern Lights with that saying printed on it.

When you think of the phrase Carpe Diem,
what other phrases come to mind?
Go get 'em!.
Waste no time, get after it.
Go for it!
Don’t let any opportunity pass you by.
Take the shot!

And up until yesterday, I thought it meant “seize the day”

But, I was reading this book by Madeleine Dore called I Didn’t Do the Thing Today and in it I learned that Carpe Diem doesn’t exactly translate to seize the day.
In fact, she claims it is more appropriately translated into:

PLUCK THE DAY.

A flower metaphor! I was overjoyed to find that this is really a flower metaphor. Or a fruit metaphor - but something nature related at least!

Dore says,
“In order to pluck the day, we first need to survey what is blossoming, what is ripe, what is ready to harvest. This looks different from day to day and season to season. We do not wish to dig it all up in a frenzy, but we should be careful in our selection, gently tending to a moment, careful not to crush or damage its stem or bruise the fruits of the day. In each day…there is something for us to pick, something we can pop in a vase on the windowsill and enjoy.”

OMG. Game changer.

We don’t have to seize the day with power and force. We can pluck the day with mindful intention. We can “survey what is blossoming” and carefully select the things that are ready for us to enjoy. We can leave other things to continue to ripen….knowing that we can come back to them later.

I found it so beautiful and so inspiring. As we begin another week, I wonder… what will you pluck today?