We all know the translation of Horace’s Carpe Diem – “seize the day”. I sometimes think this translation demands us to take too big a leap. What if we softened it, shaped it for our tired season? And as luck will have it there is another possible translation. So what if we instead “pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one”?
It was listening to Vox Chamber Choir‘s recording of Carpe Diem that nudged this reflection. Their voices brim with urgency and beauty, and yet also depicts a quiet assurance that this moment is enough.
Here we are again…
In South Africa (and I am pretty sure most parts of the world), this year has been a real heavyweight. Many of us are running on low energy. The summer holiday gleams on the horizon, but for now we’re simply holding on. In both the creative communication and arts world, we call this “silly season”. Black Friday deals, festive campaigns, concerts, year-end pushes. It’s meant to sparkle. But more often that not it just drains.
A different approach
Here’s the paradox: the season demands more from us, yet our reserves are flickering. That’s why “pluck the day” appeals. It doesn’t demand a sprint. It doesn’t demand that we “go big and then go home”. It asks: what can you harvest today?
My dual lens
Here’s how I see it, in my dual role as strategist in creative comms and practitioner in the choral/arts world:
- Set an intention instead of a conquest. Maybe today you simply breathe. Maybe today you finish that one idea. Maybe you say yes to a rehearsal, and no to coffee meeting. The day is not about doing it all. It’s about choosing what matters.
- Pluck according to your need. If your energy is low: pluck gently. If you feel a spark: pluck boldly. The “pluck” might be a quiet moment of reflection, or a small action of creation. The key is: it’s intentional.
- Trust the day, less so the next one. We often defer to “tomorrow I’ll…” Tomorrow just might be safer, bigger, better. But tomorrow belongs to the same cycle of fatigue and pressure. Plucking today means making today real. It means acting in the present, however modestly.
Inspiration in practice
In the performance of Carpe Diem, I hear the choir’s voices threading hope through human frailty. Each phrase rises and falls like a breath, reminding me that beauty often lives inside imperfection. The music doesn’t rush to the end; it lingers, allowing each note to mean something.
I hear the message that the day matters, even when the next one looms unknown. That intention and presence are not luxuries, they’re disciplines.
And I take that into my work and my world. In the creative space, we’re often asked to deliver fast, think big, and always stay “on.” But this piece reminds me that creativity, like choral harmony, needs both tension and rest. It reminds me that leading a team or crafting a campaign isn’t about constant crescendo, it’s about knowing when to pause, breathe, and listen for the next note. In my artistic life, it’s a call to trust that every rehearsal, every imperfect take, every quiet moment of belief adds to the greater sound.
So when I say I take it into my world, I mean this: I carry the rhythm of that truth into both boardroom and rehearsal room: that to pluck the day is to be fully alive in it.
My invitation to you
As the ‘silly season’ gallops closer, and as the turning of the year approaches, here’s what I invite you (and myself) to embrace:
- Choose one small thing you will pluck today.
- Let it be meaningful to you.
- Let the rest of the noise fall away.
- Remind yourself: this day, the one you have now, is enough.
And yes, let’s keep the bigger goals in sight. The album, the campaign, the concert, the ambition, they really matter. But they live because of today’s tiny plucks: the call answered, the note sung, the message drafted, the pause taken.
In the arts, a single sung note can change a heartbeat. In communications, a single word can shift a perspective. In life, one plucked moment can tilt a tired season into something meaningful.
Let’s pluck
So, despite the low energy, despite the yet-to-come holiday, despite the endless list of “must-do’s”… let’s pluck. Let’s trust less in the next day and lean into this one. After all, the choir reminds us: the day is ours to claim.
Here’s to the remaining weeks of the year. Here’s to the small, intentional harvests. Here’s to plucking the day.
~ Tiaan
Want to hear Vox Chamber Choir‘s performance of Carpe Diem? Just click on the link below. This piece is also currently in the run for a GRAMMY nomination, so please pluck the good thoughts with us!
