(Written months, months and … years? ago…)
Quite a while ago, while browsing the ridiculously overpriced shop at Stockholm’s modern museum, I stumbled upon one of the best book titles possibly ever. The cover homed three simple words: Carpe f***ing diem. Three words that contained so much more than each word alone, so much more even than them combined, so many interpretations. Reading them allows for not a informative response but an emotional one. I smiled, intrigued.
Three little words famous in their own right. The overbearing meaning of Carpe diem: Seize the day, don’t waste time, be all you can be. Tattoo it on your wrist, make it your life’s motto and engrave it on your blasted tombstone… yada yada yada. Honestly, are we not all a bit fed up? Are we not already steaming under the pressure to perform at 200 percent? (look great, be successful, skilled, intelligent, nice, be part of a family, be someone’s soulmate, be the best friend, do exotic things, be talented, also have hobbies, dress-to-impress, be independent but know when to ask for help, call your grandmother more often… etc!)
We also all know the meaning of f***ing. Here in particular the sense of “I could not be bothered” which appealed to a whole generation where “f*ck it!” for long remained the life’s motto of at least yours truly. Maybe this is the only sensible response to the high expectations society (and ourselves) puts us under.
This is what makes the three words so amazingly beautiful: all that pressure for not wasting moments and at the same time an effortless, botherless, apathetic “whatever”. Combining the “Let’s do it! Wohoo!” with a sort of “Alrighty then, I guess I have to…”
Three words oozing of bittersweet truth and perhaps the most honest of ironies.
It took me two seconds to realize that the book held nothing to maintain my immediate interest. It was dull book filled with even duller photos. “Never judge a book by its cover” they say. While this might have been true before the printing press and graphic design became a thing, now-a-days the cover of a book is designed to say more about the book than the summary at the back. I guess this is why appearance is so important both in presentation and perception.
Doing my best to follow this rather bittersweet sentiment I have for some time tried to say yes to everything. I am no longer sure what kind of result I was expecting…