The Carpe Diem Attitude

As we grow older, time becomes more valuable because there will be less of it in the future.  I remember when I was fourteen years old at Bocas del Toro, I thought I was going to live forever.  I never gave thought of it.  Time was always there for granted.  Now at 62, I know that time ahead is getting smaller and smaller as the day passes and the calendar leaves fall.

I’ve a developed a new attitude towards the future trying to make every day count.  I started reading again, making my blog content better, taking photographs and planning a new photographic project with a friend.   I started walking once more early in the morning as I used to.  In other words, I started to make a better use of my remaining time.  I call it the Carpe Diem Attitude.

Carpe Diem is a literary expression used by Roman lyric poet Horace in one of his Odes (Carmina):

“Don’t ask (it’s forbidden to know) what final fate the gods have what end the gods will give me or you, Leuconoe.

Don’t play with Babylonian fortune-telling either. It is better to endure whatever will be.

Whether Jupiter has allotted to you many more winters or this final one which even now wears out the Tyrrhenian sea on the rocks placed opposite—be smart, drink your wine. Scale back your long hopes to a short period. While we speak, envious time will have {already} fled

Seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow.”

In a nutshell:

Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
Aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero

Which means:  While we’re talking, envious time is fleeing: seize the day, put no trust in the future.

Having said this, say Hello to Carpe Diem and Goodbye to Procrastination.  Good Day.

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The Iconic Landmark of Ancon Hill

Ancon Hill is a steep 654-foot hill which overlooks Panama City, Panama. It is one of the most recognizable and beloved landmarks in the country.

It was under U.S. jurisdiction as part of the Panama Canal Zone for much of the 20th century; and therefore, was never developed like most of the surrounding urbanized parts of the city. As a result, it became a kind of an “island” of jungle in an urban area, where wildlife still survives cut off from other jungle areas.

It is not uncommon to see sloths, coatimundi, armadillos, Geoffroy’s Tamarins or deer on Ancon Hill, which status is now protected. Its name is used as an acronym by a Panamanian environmental group, “Asociación Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (ANCON)”.

The lower slopes contained residences and Gorgas Hospital. Higher up at Balboa Heights, were the residence of the Governor of the Canal Zone, and Quarry Heights, where the U.S. Southern Command was located.

Quarry Heights was named for being adjacent to a large rock quarry on one side of the hill, which left a visible cliff face on one side. The hill contains an abandoned underground bunker once manned by the U.S. Southern Command.

At the top are two broadcast towers and a small road that reaches them. One way vehicular traffic is now allowed during daylight hours. Hikers can use the road to reach the summit, and it is a popular jogging and hiking trek. Along the path, all manner of vegetation and birds can be seen, including large number of orchids (all of which are protected by CITES).

When Panama regained control of the hill following the 1977 Panama Canal Treaty, one of the first things the country did was fly a large oversized Panamanian flag atop the hill.

Below are several pictures of this green icon of Panama City which still strikes a chord in Panamanian nationalistic psyche.  Here we go.

A landscape photograph of Ancon Hill taken from the Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama. (Credit: Omar Upegui R./Michael Moore)

Another digital version of previous photograph. Notice the Panama flag waving on top of the hill. (Credit: Omar Upegui R./Michael Moore)

An artistic creation of Ancon Hill made by Michael Moore, a professional photographer. (Credit: Omar Upegui R./Michael Moore)

When you travel to Panama and see this big hill covered with thick vegetation right in the middle of the city, you will know that it’s Ancon Hill.  It will not be a total stranger.  Good Day.

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Photograph of the Day: A Blueish Look

(Credit: BigBlonde)

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