QuoteProject
The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.
Nhat Hanh
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of being present and mindful in our lives.

Thich Nhat Hanh's quote highlights the significance of living in the present moment as a way to connect with life. It suggests that dwelling on the past or worrying about the future prevents us from experiencing the richness of life as it unfolds right now. By returning to ourselves in the present, we cultivate awareness and appreciation for the current moment, ultimately enhancing our experience of life.

Themes

PresentMindfulnessLifeAwareness

In practice

Example use cases

In a meditation workshop to stress the importance of being mindful.

More from Nhat Hanh

Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.
Nhat HanhRead
I have lost my smile, but don't worry. The dandelion has it.
Nhat HanhRead
I realize that many elements of the Buddhist teaching can be found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam. I think if Buddhism can help, it is the concrete methods of practice.
Nhat HanhRead
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.
Nhat HanhRead
The therapist does not treat patients by simply giving them another set of beliefs. He or she tries to help them see which kinds of ideas and beliefs have led to their suffering. Many patients want to get rid of their painful feelings, but they do not want to get rid of their beliefs, the viewpoints that are the very roots of their feelings.
Nhat HanhRead
Scientists tell us that we have enough technology to save our planet. . . . Yet we don't take advantage of this new technology. . . . The technological has to work hand-in-hand with the spiritual. Our spiritual life is the element that can bring about the energies of peace, calm, brotherhood, understanding, and compassion. Without that, our planet doesn't stand a chance.
Nhat HanhRead

Similar quotes

Someday stars will wind down or blow up. Someday death will cover us all like the water of a lake and perhaps nothing will ever come to the surface to show that we were ever there. But we WERE there, and during the time we lived, we were alive. That's the truth - what is, what was, what will be - not what could be, what should have been, what never can be.
Orson Scott CardRead
Israel claims it needs nuclear weapons as a deterrent against any threat to its existence. The Arab world in return feels that this is an imbalanced system; there is a sense of humiliation and impotence.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead
The age of Chivalry is gone. An age of Humanity has come.
Charles SumnerRead
That which is given with pride and ostentation is rather an ambition than a bounty.
Seneca The YoungerRead
It is still fashionable to believe that how you organize yourself religiously in this life may matter for eternity. Unless we can erode the prestige of that kind of thinking, we're not going to be able to undermine these divisions in our world.
Sam HarrisRead
The 'deep' civic function of the humanities . . . is something understood very well by totalitarian societies, which tend to keep close tabs on them, and to circumscribe them in direct proportion to how stringently the population is controlled.
Mark SloukaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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