Seize the Day

Simone de Beauvoir (left) and Jean-Paul Sartre (right) met in Sorbonne, France, in 1929. Death separated them in 1980.

Do you ever experience those seize-the-day sensations, those feelings which gush through you and commandeer your apathy, upon reading a quote or hearing a speech? The passage can be terse; it can be circuitous. But, nonetheless, it stirs you. For underneath its literal message is a profound stipulation to move your life forward and fight stagnancy.

These words, written by Simone de Beauvoir following the death of her lover, Jean-Paul Sartre (pictured together above), may just do that for you:

‘His death does not separate us. My death will not bring us together again. That is how things are. It is in itself splendid that we were able to live our lives in harmony for so long.’

The passage ‘speaks’ loudly and with conviction despite its short length. It exudes the gratitude Beauvoir felt at the two’s ever having met. Her view is positively life-affirming.

Just like that, life is over. But, at least, don’t take with you regrets. Find something to be so deeply thankful for, like Beauvoir and Sartre had, and cling onto it until its end.

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