I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.
Virginia WoolfRead
But I don't think of the future, or the past, I feast on the moment. This is the secret of happiness, but only reached now in middle age.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The key to happiness lies in appreciating the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
In this quote, Virginia Woolf emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment as a source of true happiness. She reflects on her journey to this understanding, suggesting that it is often through life experiences and maturity that one comes to realize the value of savoring the now, rather than being preoccupied with what has been or what may come.
Themes
HappinessPresentMomentLifeWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a mindfulness workshop to highlight the importance of living in the present.
More from Virginia Woolf
All quotes βDeath is woven in with the violets,β said Louis. βDeath and again death.β)
Virginia WoolfRead
He began to search among the infinite series of impressions which time had laid down, leaf upon leaf, fold upon fold softly, incessantly upon his brain; among scents, sounds; voices, harsh, hollow, sweet; and lights passing, and brooms tapping; and the wash and hush of the sea.
Virginia WoolfRead
I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts.
Virginia WoolfRead
I do think all good and evil comes from words. I have to tune myself into a good temper with something musical, and I run to a book as a child to its mother.
Virginia WoolfRead
London perpetually attracts, stimulates, gives me a play and a story and a poem, without any trouble, save that of moving my legs through the streets... To walk alone through London is the greatest rest.
Virginia WoolfRead
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