We all know that it’s important, and it seems so simple.
Be here, right now, with whatever you are doing or experiencing.
But it’s not so easy, is it?
We live much of our lives in our heads, pondering the past or worrying about the future.
Staying grounded in the present moments feels like keeping a boat anchored during a hurricane.
However, when you can calm the storms of your restless mind, the present moment welcomes you like an old friend just waiting for you to arrive.
Everything is so manageable and peaceful in the present moment.
If you have trouble calming your mental storms, we’ve curated a list of quotes about enjoying the moment to remind you to return to it as often as possible.
What Does It Mean to Be Present?
Do you spend excessive amounts of time beating yourself up over past mistakes?
Or maybe you’re the type of person who lives in a constant state of stress about the future. Whichever the case, by failing to live in the present, you’re creating unnecessary angst for yourself.
The best way to avoid the push and pull between past and future is developing presence — the ability to live in the moment. People who practice presence enjoy:
- More peace of mind
- Stillness
- Shaper senses
- Freedom from delusion
- Lower rates of stress, anxiety, and depression
- Better cognitive function
While the concept of presence is easy to grasp, mastering can take years — even decades.
Why is it so difficult?
The brain’s default mode is racing and wandering. It travels back to the past, fantasizes and catastrophizes about the future, and is always looking for potential danger with the goal of protecting you.
After all, your mind’s job is to trigger reactions when the need arises.
However, when we take control of our brain’s thought reigns and keep ourselves planted in the present, we alleviate mental stress, giving us more energy and focus on prioritizing and implementing our goals, dreams, and healthy lifestyle routines.
51 Be Present Quotes to Help You Savor Every Moment
Your days are busy and distracting, and you can go through an entire day without taking a moment just to breathe and be in the now.
This list of present moment quotes can help solidify a mindfulness practice in which you take time throughout the day to be still and savor.
A few mindful breaths, paying attention to your senses and watching your thoughts all can center you and provide inner calm.
Consider using these quotes in the following ways:
- As you read through them, pay attention to how they make you feel and the thoughts they provoke.
- Use one quote a day as a focus for your meditation time.
- Write a quote in your journal, and write about the thoughts and feelings that come from the words.
- Post some of the quotes where you will see them to remind you to be present throughout the day.
Here are 51 being present quotes to review:
1. “If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.” ― Roy T. Bennett
2. “Nothing is more precious than being in the present moment, fully alive, fully aware.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
3. “Every instant of our lives is essentially irreplaceable: you must know this in order to concentrate on life.” ― André Gide
4. “Wherever you are, be all there.” — Jim Elliott
5. “You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” ― Jan Glidewell
7. “Make every day count… Even when you think it’s the worst day of your life; for you never know when it’ll be your last.” ― Solange Nicole
8. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” — Buddha
9. “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time — past and future — the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” ― Eckhart Tolle
10. “The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.” — Abraham Maslow
11. “Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment.” — Deepak Chopra
12. “Do not ruin today with mourning tomorrow.” ― Catherynne M. Valente
13. “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” — Lao Zi
14. “Always hold fast to the present. Every situation, indeed every moment, is of infinite value, for it is the representative of a whole eternity.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
15. “I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.” ― Abraham Lincoln
16. “It stands to reason that anyone who learns to live well will die well. The skills are the same: being present in the moment, and humble, and brave, and keeping a sense of humor.” ― Victoria Moran
18. “If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.“ — Masaru Emoto
19. “Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present, which seldom happens to us.” — Jean de La Bruyère
20. “The first recipe for happiness is: Avoid too lengthy meditation on the past.” — André Maurois
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21. “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” — Alice Morse Earle
22. “Focus on opportunities not setbacks. Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t. Focus on the present moment, not the past or the future. Empower yourself!” ― Akiroq Brost
23. “Live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find eternity in each moment.” ― Henry David Thoreau
24. “Don’t let procrastination take over your life. Be brave and take risks. Your life is happening right now.” ― Roy Bennett
26. “Stop dreaming of immortality. Live it instead, right where it exists, in the continual present.” ― George Hammond
27. “Living in the moment is being aware of the moment we are in. If our minds are in the past or future, we are not truly alive in the present.” ― Satsuki Shibuya
28. “Fears of the future torture us more than the problems of the present.” ― Amit Kalantri
29. “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” ― Dalai Lama
31. “Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.” ― Denis Waitley
32. “Life can be found only in the present moment. 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.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
33. “Sometimes you need to sit lonely on the floor in a quiet room in order to hear your own voice and not let it drown in the noise of others.” ― Charlotte Eriksson
34. “Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” — Mother Teresa
35. “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” — American Proverb
36. “There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment.” – Yamamoto Tsunetomo
37. “Remember then: there is only one time that is important– Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.” – Leo Tolstoy
38. “Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.” – George Harrison
40. “There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.” – Aeschylus
41. “At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.” – Heather Hepler
42. “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”- Henry David Thoreau
43. “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” – Amit Ray
44. “I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.” – Alan Watts
45. “The clock is running. Make the most of today…time waits for no man. Yesterday is history….tomorrow is a mystery…today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.” – Alice Morse Earle
47. “Mindfulness can help people of any age that’s because we become what we think.” — Goldie Hawn
48. “I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.” ― Alan Wilson Watts
49. “The past is a ghost, the future a dream and all we ever have is now.” ― Bill Cosby
50. “All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.” ― Martha Graham
51. “Stop longing. You poison today’s ease, reaching always for tomorrow.” ― Robin Hobb
Now that you’ve read these living in the present quotes take a deep breath and use this moment to be still and pay attention.
Let the power of the moment wash over you so that you understand on a deeper level that right now is the only reality.
