You are younger today than you ever will be again. Make use of it for the sake of tomorrow.
—Unknown
We must not wish anything other than what happens from moment to moment, all the while, however, exercising ourselves in goodness.
—Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510) Italian Catholic Saint, Mystic
I have realized that the past and the future are real illusions, that they exist only in the present, which is what there is and all that there is.
—Alan Watts (1915–73) British-American Philosopher, Author
Who knows if the gods above will add tomorrow’s span to this day’s sum?
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
—Abbie Hoffman (1936–89) American Political Activist, Anarchist
Live for today. Multitudes of people have failed to live for today … What they have had within their grasp today they have missed entirely, because only the future has intrigued them.
—William Allen White (1868–1944) American Journalist, Author, Editor
Half of today is better than all of tomorrow.
—Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) French Poet, Short Story Writer
Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present—which seldom happens to us.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways.
—Stephen Vincent Benet (1898–1943) American Poet, Novelist
To live is so startling, it leaves but little room for other occupations.
—Emily Dickinson (1830–86) American Poet
I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That’s where the fun is.
—Donald Trump (b.1946) American Businessperson, Head of State
The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
One cannot change the past, but one can ruin the present by worrying over the future.
—Unknown
We live in the present, we dream of the future, but we learn eternal truths from the past.
—Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) First Lady of the Republic of China
We never care for the present moment. We are so foolish that we wander in times that are not ours, and never think of the only time that belongs to us; we are so frivolous that we dream of the days that are not, and thoughtlessly pass over the only one that exists. We never live, but hope to live; and since we are always preparing to be happy it is inevitable that we shall never be so.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
No matter what looms ahead, if you can eat today, enjoy the sunlight today, mix good cheer with friends today, enjoy it and bless God for it. Do not look back on happiness—or dream of it in the future. You are only sure of today; do not let yourself be cheated out of it.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Every moment that I am centered in the future, I suffer a temporary loss of this life.
—Hugh Prather (b.1938) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
If we spend our time with regrets over yesterday, and worries over what might happen tomorrow, we have no today in which to live.
—Unknown
Act—act in the living present.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
In order to be utterly happy, the only thing necessary is to refrain from comparing this moment with other moments in the past, which I often did not fully enjoy because I was comparing them with other moments of the future.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
The habit of looking into the future and thinking that the whole meaning of the present lies in what it will bring forth is a pernicious one. There can be no value in the whole unless there is value in the parts.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
Were you to live three thousand years, or even thirty thousand, remember that the sole life which a man can lose is that which he is living at the moment; and furthermore, that he can have no other life except the one he loses …
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
There is one thing we can do, and the happiest people are those who an do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all here. We can… give all our attention to the opportunity before us.
—Mark Van Doren (1894–1972) American Poet, Writer, Critic
Now is all we have. Everything that has ever happened to you and anything that is ever going to happen to you, is just a thought.
—Wayne Dyer (1940–2015) American Self-Help Author
The span of life is waning fast; Beware, unthinking youth, beware! Thy soul’s eternity depends Upon the record moments bear.
—Eliza Cook (1818–89) English Author, Poet
I am in the present. I cannot know what tomorrow will bring forth. I can know only what the truth is for me today. That is what I am called upon to serve, and I serve it in all lucidity.
—Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Russian-born American Composer, Musician
Today is a king in disguise.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
No mind is much employed upon the present; recollection and anticipation fill up almost all our moments.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
The art of life is to live in the present moment, and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God Himself.
—Emmet Fox (1886–1951) Irish-American New Thought Leader
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