What does Carpe Diem really mean?

Nowadays,
more than 90% of teenagers, regardless of their origins and background, are familiar with social networks (intensively or mildy), and as a result they might have, rather, must have heard of or known about the term "YOLO" : You Only Live Once.

Despite it's viral nature, not everyone thinks alike.
And there comes the school of thought which uses the term "YODO": You Only Die Once". Their argument is that you live everyday, but you die only once.

Amongst these disparities in social philosophy, there has been one who's stood out of the box. He's a pen pal which I know for approximately 5 years today and he goes by The Nickname : The Second One. And he always quotes:
"We all have two lives...
And
the second one begins when you realize that you just got one"

Astonishing ain't it? Strange too right?

Casual readers who might have thought that it was a kind of duality between YOLO and YODO, were sadly far from the count...
Because,
When asked about it, he replied : "It's all about awakening consciousness"

Even though we are indoctrinated by school trying to impose societal rules and values upon us, The Second One's quote, makes us to look at things in a three-dimensional manner.

He goes by the name Alex Noussi and has been writing about life from his perspective, experiences and emotions in the form of poetic texts full of rhymes and reason. He writes in English as well as in French, and If you ever have the opportunity to question him about his texts(or anything), the understanding will just hit you differently. As for me, he got talent and to him, there might be no Second One.

That aside, let's get to the enigma of "carpe diem" meaning.

Carpe-Diem is a popular expression that says:
"One should enjoy the present with no concern about the future's stress or challenges, live is short, enjoy every bit of it."

This is relatively close to the popular South African expression Hakuna Matata, which means:
"You will live your life with no worries nor philosophy."

Both "Carpe-Diem" and "Hakuna Matata" are very close to epicureanism.

Epicureanism is a materialistic and atomic doctrine which gets it's legacy from Epicurus and was further propagated by Karl Marx.

Carpe diem is part of Horace’s injunction “carpe diem quam minimum credula postero,” which appears in his Odes (I.11), published in 23 BCE. It can be translated literally as “pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one.” The phrase carpe diem has come to stand for Horace’s entire injunction, and it is more widely known as “seize the day.” As said above, it has a close link with Epicurean philosophy. The first time I heard about the expression "carpe diem" was when studying Cavalier poetry. And these poets believed in just living the day like there was no tomorrow. Which gets me to wondering...
Is there a deeper meaning to this injunction?

No. There isn’t. As indicated, carpe diem calls for us to live the day like it was our last. In other words, carpe diem is a way of telling us: "Live it all today(now), for you only live once"

But we are also wary of this advice. For it also makes us to question ourselves and our lives... If we lived like there was no tomorrow, we might also just live the worst of our lives today, rather than living the best... Or vice versa... Those are just probabilities.

But the real problem with this carpe diem is that it can be misleading... For I want to seize the day without totally forgetting that there might be a tomorrow... But I also want to seize the day such that if I was to die today, I won't regret not seeing tomorrow.

Yes. The whole philosophy is confusing. Looking at it critically, it's a YOLO-YODO kind of thing. Because these two social philosophies as different as they might seem, only come in to preach the "Pluck the day" doctrine. If I only live once, or if I only die once, I want to seize the day and to the fullest.

I'm sure you already knew before reading this article that "carpe diem" means exactly what I've said it to mean. Maybe I've taught you nothing new. I just want you to know that as you practice the "carpe diem", you should take your time; be prudent.

Contributions came from:
Conrad NN
Alex Noussi.

Here attached is a poem:
Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem!
Let's seize the day and make every moment count.
Every new day is an opportunity to find life's bounty.
So every single moment, we reach the peak of little mounts
Jolly, aspiring to make these moments feisty.

Carpe diem!
If we die today, there'll be no regrets.
And if we walk away, then we must've tried our bests.
Drinking from this energy source, we quench our thirst
We must have felt accomplished, in our lives and in our deaths.

Carpe diem!
Though we treat with caution
Though we suppress our emotions
Though we forsake our human interaction
So we seize the day without aspirations.

©conrad_nn