Are you familiar with the term YOLO? I learned it recently from my daughters. It means "You Only Live Once." Apparently, among some sectors of our youth, it is a popular phrase to say to indicate that you ought to seize the moment. I actually saw a young man walking down the street last week with it inscribed on his hat.
It reminds me of the phrase "Carpe diem," which was made popular in the late 1980s by the movie "Dead Poets Society" starring Robin Williams. It followed the lives of boys at boarding school who were encouraged by their English teacher (played by Robin Williams) to "seize the day."
Of course, it has a history that goes back much farther than 1989; it goes at least back to antiquity and the writings of Horace, a Roman poet who wrote near the time of Christ's birth. In Horace, the phrase is part of the longer Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the next (day)[/future]", and the ode says that the future is unforeseen, and that one should not leave to chance future happenings but rather one should do all one can today to make one's future better. This phrase is usually understood against Horace's Epicurean background.[5] It is important to note that the "Carpe diem" phrase is often misinterpreted and misused in contemporary popular culture. However, it's not about ignoring one's future, but rather not trusting that everything is going to fall into place for you someday and doing those things today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpe_diem; 1989 Dead Poets Society
I have been a camp this week spending time on other topics, but I did ask a group of camp staff (college age) what they thought of YOLO. They did not think much of it. One said it was a lame excuse for "carpe diem." Another said it did not fit our theology. We know that we will live twice because of the resurrection. I suggested that perhaps Jesus' reminders that we do not know when he will come again challenges us to adopt a YOLO attitude. They grudgingly agreed, and then quickly returned to updating their Facebook statuses!
What does the phrase "You Only Live Once" bring to mind?
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