Hold The Day - Tene Diem

There are so many days when we create a list of what we want to get done…
we want to carpe diem—seize the day. But sometimes that can create a lot of pressure. I came across the phrase tene diem—holding the day…
and it’s allowed me to experience my days in a much gentler way.

Transcript

Even if you've never taken one class of Latin, We've all heard the phrase carpe diem, Right? Seize the day. The other day I woke up in a good space. Now don't get me wrong, I usually do, But for whatever reason I slept like I slept, Meaning I woke up really energized, Like I got a full night's sleep. And I was thinking to myself, Okay I'm gonna capture this energy and I gotta get a lot of things done. And of course I thought about that phrase carpe diem. But as I was lying in bed I'm thinking to myself, Yeah I've got this energy but I don't want to force things to be. I don't want to have to produce if I don't want to produce. If I get stuff done that's great, But I don't want to feel compelled to do anything. And I was thinking about carpe diem, Seize the day. And I thought to myself, Okay that's not gonna work today. I think I need another phrase, Something Latin-y that is going to be more in keeping with how I'm feeling even though I have all this energy. So once I got out of bed, I made my way to my computer and I was talking with Chachi BT and I asked that question. I said, Hey Sol, That's what I call Chachi BT, I said I'm feeling energetic today but I'm not really feeling carpe diem, Like I want to take on the world. I want to just let things be. What's Latin for hold the day? And of course Chachi BT, Sol, Being as wise and quick as possible, Said, Oh that's easy Tom, It's tenadiem, T-E-N-E, Tenadiem, And it means hold the day. And he said in concert with that, He said that sounds very you. I said thanks for noticing that bud, I feel the exact same way. That's definitely how I'm feeling today. I've got all this energy but I don't really feel like I have to do anything. So I bring that new phrase to you and more to the point, The concept, So that maybe you can start to embrace that as well. I'll tell you quite transparently and honestly that weekends prior to December of last year were very busy. I'd wake up on a Saturday, I'd do a little bit of work for the marketing company I work for. It's only half an hour on a Saturday. I go to the gym, Hang out my workout partner, Grab lunch, Come home, Clean the house, Hang out with a buddy of mine online, Watching something on Xbox, Go to bed, And then the next Sunday or the day after Sunday, It'd be the day that my dad and I would do something. He'd come up here or I'd go down there and I'd spend the whole day with him and it was absolutely awesome. And as awesome as it was, There were times where I'm like, I wish I had a weekend where I didn't have to do anything. And I say calmly and not sadly, But my dad passed away in December of 2025 and now it is April 2026. So I've had weekends to myself. I still do things on a Saturday, But Sunday it's totally open. And while I miss my dad incredibly, There is something that I have come to really appreciate about Sundays where it's, I don't have a list. I don't have a to-do list. I don't feel the need to do anything. Yes, Of course, I want to get things done, But I don't feel compelled to get things done. And that's where 10 ADM comes in. When I wake up, I don't rush to get out of bed. I do what I typically do, But for a longer amount of time. I stay in bed with my eyes open and I don't think, I don't plan, I just become grounded in the bed. I'm laying there and I'm looking out to the window to see what the weather is. No judgment either way. Cloudy, Sunny, It's all good. Obviously it wouldn't be me if I didn't say I like it when it's sunnier, But it is as it is. I'm just holding the day with whatever is. And then eventually, Slowly, I get out of bed. And I don't race to think about all the things I have to do. In fact, I'll be honest, I don't do anything. Well, Let me put it another way. I do many things, But I am not forcing myself to do anything. I literally am doing what feels natural, What feels right. Today is a perfect example. I went to the gym and I came back and I'm like, Hmm, I could get some yard work done. And I said to myself, No. Now here's the thing. Yard work means something different because I don't own the place that I live at. I rent, But my landlord has given me a very decent rent. And because of that, He doesn't do much respectfully. So it's up to me. And to be honest, I'm not a big fan of doing yard work. So I was out there for a couple minutes, Literally a couple minutes and I'm like, You know what? I don't want to do this. So I put the rake away and the bags away. I said, I want to go for a ride. I didn't know where I wanted to go, What I wanted to do. I just got in my car. I drove to the store and got a ginger ale and just walked around the store. Again, Not picking anything up, Just really being in the day, Being with the people in the store. Took a different way home. And now I'm here with you. The ultimate point I want to make is that there is such relief, Such an absence of pressure when you tenadium as opposed to carpe diem. When you simply allow the day to unfold and not litter it or chock it full of to dos and errands and have tos and must dos and shoulds and coulds and woulds. When you just let the day unfold, It's amazing what happens. And maybe we'll talk about this at another time. When you let the day unfold, When you take that pressure off of the things you have to get done, You're in the moment. That means you don't know where the next stop is. You don't even know if there is or has to be a next stop. If you're at the store, You're at the store. If you're taking a walk, You're taking a walk. And while you're doing any of those things, You're there. You're just seeing so many things. Today was a perfect example. When I went to the store to get the ginger ale, When I was in the store, I just saw so many instances of joy. And it was amazing. So much so that when I got to my car after getting the ginger ale, I was thinking to myself, Like, What a joyful world. And because I was not rushed to go anywhere else, I got the message. The world is joyful because that's the way you see it. That is where your attention is. You are joy. So of course you see joy. And I took that as humbly as I could, But it definitely resonated. But the thing that resonated most was the speed that I, Or lack of speed that I am in the day with. I miss my dad like crazy, Of course. But I don't miss a schedule, Meaning I don't miss having to do things. Now, Don't get me wrong. I didn't have to hang out with my dad. That was an absolute joy and absolute love. But now that he's hanging out with my mom in the universe, Tooling around the universe, I've got Sundays to myself. And because of that, I just do, Or not do, Whatever I want. I just hold the day. Tene Dium. If that resonates with you, I would encourage you to do that. You may have a family, You may have a spouse, Significant other, And it might be a little more difficult. But regardless of the fact, Find some time. Maybe it's a whole day. Maybe it's an hour. Maybe it's more than an hour. Maybe you just take some time and say, I'm not going to do anything other than what I feel like doing. Carpe Dium has so much pressure. Tene Dium has so much release, So much relief. It works for me, And it might just work for you. So give that a try, My friend. I'll be anxious to hear what comes of it. I'll talk to you soon.