30 Best Quotes About Being Present

EcoSalon’s 30 favorite quotes about living in the moment.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. – Jim Rohn

We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today. I don’t think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years before admitting today was great. If you’re hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday and just go out and have one hell of a time. – Art Buchwald

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

People are always asking about the good old days. I say, why don’t you say the good now days? – Robert M. Young

When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. – Alexander Graham Bell

Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts. – Jean Cocteau

Forever is composed of nows. – Emily Dickinson

History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside. – John F. Kennedy

If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is. – Author Unknown 

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. – Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Life’s a journey, not a destination. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why not just live in the moment, especially if it has a good beat? – Goldie Hawn

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. – Dale Carnegie

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time. – Abraham Lincoln

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. – Buddha

Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply. – Thich Nhat Hanh

The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but thought about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral. It is as it is. – Eckhart Tolle

History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that’s worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today. – Henry Ford

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. – Matthew 6:24, The Bible

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time. – Sir Winston Churchill

The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present – and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future. – Audrey Hepburn

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. – Abraham Lincoln

The future influences the present just as much as the past. – Friedrich Nietzsche

When I am anxious it is because I am living in the future. When I am depressed it is because I am living in the past. – Author Unknown

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. – Lao Tzu

I just don’t want to live like I used to. And at some point, I’m going to put a gag order on myself in terms of talking about the past. I’ve got to slam the door and deal with the present and the future. – Charlie Sheen

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. – Leonardo da Vinci

Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. – Eckhart Tolle

It is sadder to find the past again and find it inadequate to the present than it is to have it elude you and remain forever a harmonious conception of memory. – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have. – Dale Carnegie

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Images: Erika G., Christian Holmer, Guiri R. Reyes, Hanuman

 

Jessica Marati

Jessica Marati currently resides in New York City and covers travel and sustainability for EcoSalon. Catch her weekly column, Behind the Label.