CURATED COLLECTION

Being Present

The most radical act in a distracted world is simply to be here, fully, right now.

50 quotes found

“
What is important is to see, not to think about seeing.

—Susan SontagWriter & Critic

Post-War ERA • North America

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I only exist in the present. I am incapable of remembering or hoping.

—Clarice LispectorNovelist & Writer

Post-War ERA • Latin America

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The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

—Thich Nhat HanhActivist

Late Modern ERA • Southeast Asia

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Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

—Gautama BuddhaSpiritual Teacher

Ancient World ERA • South Asia

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You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave.

—Henry David ThoreauWriter, Naturalist & Philosopher

Industrial Age ERA • North America

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We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.

—C.S. LewisWriter & Theologian

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

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When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

—LaoziPhilosopher & Author

Ancient World ERA • East Asia

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Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming.

—Alice WalkerNovelist, Poet & Activist

Late Modern ERA • North America

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How long will you remain heedless? Rise, for the world is a mirage.

—Zeynep HatunPoet

Renaissance ERA • MENA

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How you gonna win when you ain't right within?

—Lauryn HillAuthor & Thinker

Late Modern ERA • North America

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Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow.

—HoraceLyric Poet

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.

—Bruce LeeMartial Artist & Philosopher

Post-War ERA • East Asia

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A poem breathes, a quiet force, transforming air into resonant presence, pure being.

—Coral BrachoPoet

Late Modern ERA • Latin America

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I just want to be me, and I like being quiet.

—Sade AduScholar & Thinker

Digital Age ERA • West Africa

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Silence is a state of being, not an absence of sound.

—Osip MandelstamPoet

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

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The past is a phantom, the future a dream, the present alone is real.

—Alexander HerzenThinker, Writer & Revolutionary

Industrial Age ERA • Eastern Europe

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Generosity is to take the initiative in helping before being asked.

—Al-Hussain ibn AliProphet & Caliph

Medieval ERA • MENA

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Leave the past behind, and let the dead bury their dead.

—Dante AlighieriPoet & Author

Medieval ERA • Southern Europe

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Life does not consist merely of living, but of being well.

—Maria DąbrowskaNovelist

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

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If you want to change the world, start with yourself. Be kind.

—Yasmin AhmadAuthor & Thinker

Contemporary ERA • Southeast Asia

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