“And so it turned out that only a life similar to the life of those around us, merging with it without a ripple, is genuine like, and that an unshared happiness is not happiness. And this war most vexing of all, happiness (is) only real when shared.” -- Christopher McCandless
I was a little reluctant to begin the book "Into the Wild." If there was anything that changed my perspective in this book, it is the previous quote. Before reading the book, I thought that “carpe diem” was a phrase encouraging people to step out of their comfort box and seize every opportunity they can. Although, I still believe this, I now also believe that it can mean so much more.
When people hear the phrase “carpe diem," many of them think of it as the older version of “YOLO” meaning you only live once. Thinking of the phrase this way may cause people to justify anything. Oh, you want go swimming with sharks, you only live once, but just don’t forget that you only die once as well. To seize the day does not mean to go out do something wild or crazy.
That’s one thing the book has taught me. You can’t seize the day if you’re dead, so make smart decisions. Chris McCandless could have done many things to help prevent his death, like accepting the offerings of food and of equipment, or even just educating himself more. Chris had bought a book that helped him find edible plants, but he also could have gotten a book or learning more about how to properly preserve the game he killed so he wouldn’t have to rely solely on vegetation. So seize the day, but be smart about it.
Another lesson I took from the book was to travel. To travel is to discover new places that may not by necessarily new, but new to you. On Chris’ journey, he met a lot of interesting people and learned things he’d never would have learned in college. He began to explore just a little part of the big world he lived in. Along the way, he met a lot of strange and interesting people, one of them being Ron. Ron was an old man who didn’t care much about the beauty of the earth we live on, and Chris was this young man who was out experiencing the world, and learning more and more every day about it. This hit me because I don’t know how you can go so long without knowing about the earth’s beauty. This reminds me of the phrase "carpe vita," which has a very similar message to carpe diem, that is seize life. Don’t live your life not knowing what else is out there.
“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases from being shared." -- Buddha
This has always been my favorite quote, and it’s very similar to what Chris has wrote in his journal -- “An unshared happiness is not happiness.” I feel like in order to seize the day, you need someone by your side. Chris went out and thought he was seizing the day, when in reality, he wasn’t. He had no one to share his life with.
In the end, my perspective of carpe diem changed just a little. I realized that you can seize the day, even if you’re just sitting around in your house. To seize the day, you make the most out of it and make the day what you want. If you’re happy, and you share that happiness with others, whether it’s your family or friends, or even just perfect strangers like Chris had done before he walked into the Alaskan wilderness, then you have seized the day. So instead of walking into the wild like Chris McCandless had done, I walk into my home to share my happiness with my family and friends.
