--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The destination of life is this eternal…" description: "\"The destination of life is this eternal moment.\" — Alan Watts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/alan-watts-587_destination_the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal_2361001.jpg" --- # The destination of life is this eternal moment. ![“The destination of life is this eternal moment.” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/alan-watts-587_destination_the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal_2361001.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/alan-watts-587_destination_the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal_2361001.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/alan-watts-587_destination_the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal_2361001.jpg) > “The destination of life is this eternal moment.” [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s true focus is the present instant; the future and past are mental constructs. **In simple terms:** Live now, the moment is all we have. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness and presence. Themes mindfulness presence existence Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - daily routines - stress reduction - decision making - relationships Key Concepts temporal perception philosophical insight spiritual practice Questions to Reflect On - What does “eternal moment” mean to you? - How can you bring more presence into daily tasks? A Different Perspective People may struggle to stay present amid distractions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destination/) [Destination Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destination-life-690428/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-moment-1332469/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-eternal/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [All there is in your life is the eternal now moment - and your experience of this moment is created by the programming in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/all-there-is-in-your-life-is-the-eternal-now-moment-and-your/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [We are travelers on a cosmic journey,stardust,swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-are-travelers-on-a-cosmic-journey-stardust-swirling-and-dancing-in/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I believe now that no matter what we consciously believe to be our true destination in life, unless we explore them all, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franco-santoro/i-believe-now-that-no-matter-what-we-consciously-believe-to-be-our/) [Franco Santoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franco-santoro/) > [When we’re alone together, I’m the destination. When I’m here in her life at school, I’m the disruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-we-re-alone-together-i-m-the-destination-when-i-m-here-in-her/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Hope you might have noticed that the destination of your life begins in the morning when you wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe/hope-you-might-have-noticed-that-the-destination-of-your-life-begins/) [Simphiwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe/) > [The Destination of Life is Death. Enjoy the journey called life before it is over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/the-destination-of-life-is-death-enjoy-the-journey-called-life-before/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) > [The exciting part is the journey of an actor. Each destination in my life is something that I celebrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashish-vidyarthi/the-exciting-part-is-the-journey-of-an-actor-each-destination-in-my/) [Ashish Vidyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashish-vidyarthi/) > [I'd come here planning to leave as soon as I could. It was a pit stop, not a destination. I had my whole life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-d-come-here-planning-to-leave-as-soon-as-i-could-it-was-a-pit-stop/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“Life is not a destination. Life is a movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rannie-yimmsoth/life-is-not-a-destination-life-is-a-movement/) [Rannie Yimmsoth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rannie-yimmsoth/) > [Life ,for eternal us,is now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/life-for-eternal-us-is-now/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [It is Peter himself that He says, 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.' Where Peter is, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose/it-is-peter-himself-that-he-says-you-are-peter-and-upon-this-rock-i/) [Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose/) > [Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/hope-is-a-gift-of-the-spirit-it-is-a-hope-that-through-the-atonement/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [The new spirituality will also base itself on a third very large spiritual understanding, which is that life is eternal. Most religious people claim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-new-spirituality-will-also-base-itself-on-a-third-very-large/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [To refine, to clarify, to intensify that eternal moment in which we alone live there is but a single force the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/to-refine-to-clarify-to-intensify-that-eternal-moment-in-which-we/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [that which is eternal within the moment only becomes shallow if spread out in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/that-which-is-eternal-within-the-moment-only-becomes-shallow-if/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## More by Alan Watts > [“The self-conscious feedback mechanism of the cortex allows us the hallucination that we are two souls in one body -a rational soul and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-self-conscious-feedback-mechanism-of-the-cortex-allows-us-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-more-we-try-to-catch-hold-of-the-present-moment-the-more-elusive/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The Universe is the game of the self, which plays hide and seek forever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-universe-is-the-game-of-the-self-which-plays-hide-and-seek/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [...mysticism and empiricism go together in opposition to scholasticism...they base themselves on the non-linear world of experience rather than the linear world of letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/mysticism-and-empiricism-go-together-in-opposition-to-scholasticism/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The hallucination of being a separate ego will not stand up to biological tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-hallucination-of-being-a-separate-ego-will-not-stand-up-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/although-profoundly-inconsequential-the-zen-experience-has/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Everything is perpetually becoming new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/everything-is-perpetually-becoming-new/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The psychotherapist ... tries to help the individual to be himself and to go it alone without giving unnecessary offense to his community, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-psychotherapist-tries-to-help-the-individual-to-be-himself-and-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“As you make more and more powerful microscopic instruments, the universe has to get smaller and smaller in order to escape the investigation. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-you-make-more-and-more-powerful-microscopic-instruments-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [A philosopher is a sort of intellectual yokel who gawks at things that sensible people take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-philosopher-is-a-sort-of-intellectual-yokel-who-gawks-at-things/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The best way to convince someone is by making him realize that what you speak came from his own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-best-way-to-convince-someone-is-by-making-him-realize-that-what/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The myths underlying our culture and underlying our common sense have not taught us to feel identical with the universe, but only parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-myths-underlying-our-culture-and-underlying-our-common-sense-have/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [To feel that life is meaningless unless “I” can be permanent is like having fallen desperately in love with an inch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/to-feel-that-life-is-meaningless-unless-i-can-be-permanent-is-like/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) [Explore all 460 Alan Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More Destination quotes > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Loving yourself is a journey, not a destination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-holliday/loving-yourself-is-a-journey-not-a-destination/) [Tess Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-holliday/) > [Love is a voyage,not a destination ! <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-voyage-not-a-destination-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“The final destination is death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-final-destination-is-death/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [India should emerge as a destination that attracts people to invest here, which, in turn, will give a boost to investment, industrial growth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-thakur/india-should-emerge-as-a-destination-that-attracts-people-to-invest/) [Anurag Thakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-thakur/) > [Do you want to make progress? If so, then take each problem not as a challenging rival, but as an encouraging friend of yours,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/do-you-want-to-make-progress-if-so-then-take-each-problem-not-as-a/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [We make a lot of detours, but we're always heading for the same destination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-make-a-lot-of-detours-but-we-re-always-heading-for-the-same/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“As you travel along the roads in life, there is a certain kind of peace that comes with knowing you're on the right path.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-nkosazana/as-you-travel-along-the-roads-in-life-there-is-a-certain-kind-of/) [Amaka Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-nkosazana/) > [Without a destination in mind, every road will be a dead end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhiess-krieg/without-a-destination-in-mind-every-road-will-be-a-dead-end/) [Jhiess Krieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhiess-krieg/) > [“If you’ve been there, done that, gotten the t-shirt, isn’t it time to move on to a new destination? Don’t waste a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-hale/if-you-ve-been-there-done-that-gotten-the-t-shirt-isn-t-it-time-to/) [Mandy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-hale/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Maine out of season is unmistakably a great destination: hospitable, good-humored, plenty of elbow room, short days, dark nights of crackling ice crystals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/maine-out-of-season-is-unmistakably-a-great-destination-hospitable/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Science sees the process of evolution from the outside, as one might a train of cars going by, and resolves it into the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/science-sees-the-process-of-evolution-from-the-outside-as-one-might-a/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) [Browse all 1,154 Destination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The destination of life is this eternal moment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Watts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal-moment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal-moment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/alan-watts-587_destination_the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal_2361001.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/alan-watts-587_destination_the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal_2361001.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/alan-watts-587_destination_the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal_2361001.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The destination of life is this eternal moment.” — Alan Watts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Watts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The destination of life is this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal-moment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-destination-of-life-is-this-eternal-moment/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```