30 Wise Quotes about Living in the Here and Now

Look to this day for it is life,

The very life of life.

In its brief course lie all the realities

And truths of existence;

The joy of growth,

The splendour of action,

The glory of power.

For yesterday is but a memory,

And tomorrow is only a vision.

But today well lived makes every

Yesterday a memory of happiness.

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

~Ancient Sanskrit poem by Kelidasa

1.      The life that the dawn brings us is the only life we have. Life is in the here and now, not in the there and afterwards

~Vimala Thakar

2.      Nothing is worth more than this day.

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

3.      Yesterday is a cancelled cheque; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have –so spend it wisely,

~Kay Lyons

4.      I have learned to live each day as it comes, and not to borrow trouble by dreading tomorrow.

~ Dorothy Dix

5.      Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.

~Benjamin Franklin

6.      With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future.  I live now. 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

7.      Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.

 ~Montaigne

8.      The other day a man asked me what I thought was the best time of life.  "Why," I answered without a thought, "now." 

~David Grayson

9.      It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis.

Margaret Bonnano

10.  Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  And today?  Today is a gift.  That's why we call it the present. 

~Babatunde Olatunji

11.  Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do. 

~Jean de la Bruyere

12.  Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.

~James Thurber

13.  The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.

~Abraham Maslow

14.  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

15.  Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour.

~ Walt Whitman

16.  Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.

~ Eckhart Tolle,

17.  Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

~Buddha

18.  We are always getting ready to live but never living.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

19.  Today is life - the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today.

~Dale Carnegie

20.  Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.

~Coria Kent

21.  Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition.

~ir William Osler

22.  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

23.  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

24.  The future depends on what you do today.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

25.  The future starts today, not tomorrow.

~ Pope John Paul II

26.  Know the true value of time! Snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no procrastination. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
~ Philip Chesterfield

27.  Life is a great and wondrous mystery, and the only thing we know that we have for sure is what is right here right now. Don't miss it.
~ Leo Buscaglia

28.  Living in the moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift.
~ Oprah Winfrey

29.  Present-moment living, getting in touch with your "now," is at the heart of effective living. When you think about it, there really is no other moment you can live. Now is all there is, and the future is just another present moment to live when it arrives. One thing is certain, you cannot live it until it does appear.

~Wayne Dyer

30.  If you are not happy here and now, you never will be.

~Taisen Deshimaru quotes