QuoteProject
I was in the Air Force a while and they had what they call "policing the area." That's where you looked around and if there's anything wrong here, there, anywhere, you took care of your own area. And I think that's a pretty good thing to go by. If everyone just takes care of their own area then we won't have any problems. Be here. Be present. Wherever you are, be there. And look around you and see what needs to be changed.
Willie Nelson
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Take responsibility for your surroundings and be present in the moment.

This quote emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and awareness in creating a better environment. By urging individuals to 'police' their own areas, it promotes the idea that if everyone takes care of their immediate surroundings and actively engages with the present, many issues can be alleviated and meaningful change can occur.

Themes

ResponsibilityPresenceAwarenessChangeAction

In practice

Example use cases

During a team meeting, I shared this quote to highlight the importance of collective responsibility.

More from Willie Nelson

I take it not only a day at a time, but a moment at a time, and keep it at that pace. If you can be happy right now, then you’ll always be happy, because it’s always in the now
Willie NelsonRead
Since I was a kid, music was what I wanted to do. I thought I could make it by my own talents. That's what I wanted to prove.
Willie NelsonRead
Little things I should have said and done I just never took the time You were always on my mind
Willie NelsonRead
Songwriters might write cynical, world-wise lyrics and constantly talk about money, but most of us are downright naive when it comes to business.
Willie NelsonRead
I started out really young, when I was four, five, six, writing poems, before I could play an instrument. I was writing about things when I was eight or 10 years old that I hadn't lived long enough to experience. That's why I also believe in reincarnation, that we were put here with ideas to pass around.
Willie NelsonRead
Gatewood Galbraith was a good friend, and a tireless advocate for the repeal of the ridiculous ban on hemp & marijuana. His book ‘The Last Free Man Standing’ says it all.
Willie NelsonRead

Similar quotes

Kitty: I thought your ladyship was ill. I wanted to help you. Lady deWinter: I ill? Do you take me for a weak woman? When I am insulted I do not feel ill - I avenge myself. Do you hear?
Alexandre DumasRead
I didn't want people to know me as a victim.
Nadia MuradRead
Don't be afraid of new arenas.
Elon MuskRead
Dealing with bullies when I was in sixth and seventh grade has made me a better football player, believe it or not. You have to come to a point when you're like, 'I've had enough, and I'm not going to be kicked around and pushed around anymore.'
Tony GonzalezRead
Sometimes people ask me how difficult the astronaut program was, but being in Sierra Leone, being responsible for the health of more than 200 people, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at age 26 - that prepared me to take on a lot of different challenges.
Mae JemisonRead
As soon as we left the ground, I knew I had to fly.
Amelia EarhartRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.