Inspirational Quotes To Encourage You To Live In The Now
To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment. Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year, and what may or may not happen tomorrow, the present moment is where you are–always!
Richard Carlson
There is no better time than now. The time to live is now. The time to dream is now. The time to imagine and forget the past is now. The time to shine is now. The time to bleed, sweat, and determine yourself for the things you want most is now.
unattributed
As long as we have some definite idea about or some hope in the future, we cannot really be serious with the moment that exists right now.
Suzuki Roshi
You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.
Joan Baez
God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any easier on account of this, indeed it may be harder, even more urgent, but now you are centered, focused, clear. So this is where I am supposed to be. I always thought I was supposed to be somewhere else, doing something else, being someone else. But I realize now that I was mistaken. This does not mean that I can’t or will not be doing something else. Just right now, I am where God wants me.
Lawrence Kushner
You may have heard about living today, tomorrow, or “tonow.” Tonow, children tell us, is a gift, which is why we call it “the present.” Children understand that tonow is the place to live. The present is really the only moment we have. Sure, bad things can happen in the tonow. But when bad things happen to children, they show us the way again, because they know how to be in touch with their feelings and needs.
Bernie Siegel
We can go through our whole lives worrying about our future happiness, and totally miss where true peace lives-right here, right now.
Peter Russell
Remember this: Now is the only time you have. When God created the universe, it was now. You can’t say to creation and energy, “I’ll do it later, not now.” Later doesn’t exist. Creation doesn’t know anything but now. Whenever you get around to doing what you want to do, it will be now. The things you need to do to live a happier, more fulfilling life – the only time you can possible start doing them is now.
Bernie Siegel
My past and future enhance my experience of the world, but it is only in the present moment that I co-create my life. Behind me are
“the things I cannot change,” which a familiar prayer reminds me to accept. I accept them, and I learn from them. Ahead of me lie
infinite possibilities and ideas waiting to be accessed through prayer, affirmation and action. And, in this present moment, I
find God. I affirm only good, knowing that all good things
are available to me.
unattributed (the Daily Word)
In the Now, there really is no destination. Each moment is lived for its own sake, even as you move toward whatever you many choose to pursue. When you are focused on some outcome or achievement–or are looking forward to the day when you are able to live in conditions that you imagine will be superior to whatever currently exists–your life right now becomes just an interval on the way to the next event.
Richard Moss
We are all dangling in mid-process between what already happened (which is just a memory) and what might happen (which is just an idea). Now is the only time anything happens. When we are awake in our lives, we know what’s happening. When we’re asleep, we don’t see what’s right in front of us.
Sylvia Boorstein
You spend very little time in the present moment. Reality exists only in the present moment. Therefore you spend very little time in reality.
Leonard Jacobson
As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are.
Otherwise you will miss most of your life.
The Buddha
We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity.
We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Discard everything except these few truths: we can live only in the present moment, in this brief now; all the rest of our life is dead and buried or shrouded in uncertainty. Short is the life we lead, and small our patch of earth.
Marcus Aurelius
When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future.
St. Therese of Lisieux
When you live in the present moment, time stands still. Accept your circumstances and live them. If there is an experience ahead of you, have it! But if worries stand in your way, put them off until tomorrow. Give yourself a day off from worry. You deserve it. Some people live with a low-grade anxiety tugging at their spirit all day long. They go to sleep with it, wake up with it, carry it around at home, in town, to church,and with friends. Here’s a remedy: Take the present moment and find something to laugh at. People who laugh, last.
Barbara Johnson
Each new moment presents an
opportunity for conscious choice.
We can choose to let go of the past.
We can choose to be here now.
We can choose to accept
responsibility for ourselves. . . .
We can choose to awaken.
Or we can choose to remain asleep
and unconscious.
Leonard Jacobson
“This very instant” is all we have. We make plans for the future, we invoke memories of the past, but really, all we have to deal with
and to act in is the moment at hand. We cannot stop its going; we cannot hurry the next moment on its way. Like everyone else in the
world, we’re partners in the dull, humdrum, dazzling, fabulous, totally unpredictable moment. And if we have a time that is “our time,” it’s right now. It has to be, because there isn’t any other. Maybe we’ve had times in the past that were special for us; maybe the future will hold precious moments. But the only time that is truly “our time” is this time, where we are, right now. And what we do with this time is ours to decide.
unattributed
Life can take place only in the present moment.
If we lose the present moment, we lose life.
The Buddha
Walking meditation is a way of waking up to the wonderful moment we are living in. If our minds are caught up and preoccupied with our
worries and our suffering, or if we distract ourselves with other things while walking, we can’t practice mindfulness; we can’t enjoy the
present moment. We’re missing out on life. If we’re awake, then we’ll see this is a wonderful moment that life has given us, the only moment in which life is available. We can value each step we take, and each step can bring us happiness because we’re in touch with life, with the source of happiness, and with our beloved planet.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and never will be again.
Pau Casals
Step into this moment, because it is the only one you have right now. It is not wasted or thrown away. The divine opportunity could be stolen unless you tell yourself it is here right now; available to you this moment, to make of it anything you choose. Why not choose this moment, right now, to be available to yourself by declaring, I AM GOOD! . . . . The richness of the present is here. The fullness of now is present. If you are not here now, it means you could be missing the love, joy, peace and brand-new ideas that are here right now.
Iyanla Vanzant
My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just to enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate.
Thornton Wilder
Be here in the moment, as an artist is here with focused attention, whether you are cooking, cleaning, praying, playing, or reading. Be here in the moment, as an athlete is here in that sweet spot of time when everything is effortless, fluid, and free. The banquet is spread before us, and it is the wish of the Divine Host that we partake of the present moment without regrets for the past or fears of the future. Pledge yourself to the moment and let it teach you. Surrender yourself to the moment and let it preach you.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Above all, we cannot afford not to live in the present. They are blessed over all mortals who lose no moment of the passing life in remembering the past.
Henry David Thoreau
I realized that living in the present is not an idea. It’s reality. It’s like taking one step at a time. Sounds good. Good philosophy,
right? Then it occurred to me, Have you ever taken two steps at a time? We can’t. It’s as simple as that: we can’t. It’s the same with living in the present. Our thoughts may wander to the past or the future. Yet, our thoughts are just thoughts. Our bodies are in the present. We are in the present. That’s just the way it is.
Anne Wilson Schaef
The present moment is always full of infinite treasure. It contains far more than you can possibly grasp. Faith is the measure of its
riches: what you find in the present moment is according to the measure of your faith. Love also is the measure: the more the heart loves, the more it rejoices in what God provides. The will of God presents itself at each moment like an immense ocean that the desire of your
heart cannot empty; yet you will drink from that ocean according to your faith and love.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade
If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.
Maria Edgeworth
I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present
moment is a major component of mental wellness.
Abraham Maslow
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
Thomas Carlyle
The present is passed over in the race for the future; the here is neglected in favor of the there. Enjoy the moment, even if it means
merely a walk in the country.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Live in the present. Do the things that need to be done. Do all the good you can each day. The future will unfold.
Peace Pilgrim
We are within a mystery, a dream of the moment, and the epitome of life is to live ever present within it. Our past
illusions and fantasies are not relative to the present moment. Here and now is where all the mystery lies hidden.
unattributed
If we know that we are now at the point where we have always wanted to be, we will be there. . . because we are never
there but always here, now!
Paul Twitchell
Don’t think about the future. Just be here now. Don’t think about the past. Just be here now.
Ram Dass
Every moment is a golden one to those who have the vision to recognize it as such.
Henry Miller
Hold every moment sacred. Give each clarity and meaning, each the weight of your awareness, each its true and due fulfillment.
Thomas Mann
Not living in the present is a form of denial. It’s easier to live in the past or future because then you don’t have to be responsible for the present.
Jane Hendrix
Those who think to reach God by running away from the world, when and where do they expect to meet him? We are reaching
him here in this very spot, now at this very moment.
Rabindranath Tagore
We hurry through the so-called boring things in order to attend to that which we deem more important, interesting. Perhaps the final
freedom will be a recognition that every thing in every moment is ‘essential’ and that nothing at all is ‘important.’
Helen M. Luke
Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole.
Life is a succession of moments and to live each one is to succeed.
Corita Kent
This-this was what made life: a moment of quiet, the water falling in the fountain, the girl’s voice. . . a moment of captured beauty. Those who are truly wise will never permit such moments to escape.
Louis L’Amour
Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand. . . and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.
Marie Beynon Ray
Every second is of infinite value.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Each moment is magical, precious and complete and will never exist again. We forget that now is the moment we are in, that the next one isn’t guaranteed. And if we are blessed with another moment, any joy, creativity or wisdom it brings will ensue from the way we live in the present one.
Susan L. Taylor
On Arturo Toscanini’s eightieth birthday, someone asked his son, Walter, what his father ranked as his most important achievement. The son replied, “For him there can be no such thing. Whatever he happens to be doing at the moment is the biggest thing in his life – whether it is conducting a symphony or peeling an orange.”
Ardis Whitman
We do not remember days, we remember moments.
Cesare Pavese
Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.
James Joyce
The past is gone, and I don’t know what’s coming in the future. It’s obvious that if I want my life to be whole, to resonate with
feeling and integrity and value and health, there’s only one way I can influence the future: by owning the present. If I can relate
to this moment with integrity, and then this moment with integrity, and then this moment with integrity, wakefully, then the sum of
that is going to be very different over time, over mind moments that stretch out into what we call a life, than a life that is lived
mostly on automatic pilot, where we are reacting and being mechanical and are therefore somewhat numb.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
I live now and only now, and I will do what I want to do this moment and not what I decided was best for me yesterday.
Hugh Prather
The passing moment is all we can be sure of; it is only common sense to extract its utmost value from it.
W. Somerset Maugham
Love the moment and the energy of the moment will spread beyond all boundaries.
Corita Kent
This is an incredible post. I love quotes and all of these make so much sense. I loved feel the rain. I feel it means: to feel what makes you sad.
We are living in ‘now’ Sadly thats what we forget 🙁
Wow. So many, so important to remember. Thanks!!