--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason we want to go on and on is…" description: "\"The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present.\" — Alan Watts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/alan-watts-587_intelligence_the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-be_2019380.jpg" --- # The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in… ![“The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present.” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/alan-watts-587_intelligence_the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-be_2019380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/alan-watts-587_intelligence_the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-be_2019380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/alan-watts-587_intelligence_the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-be_2019380.jpg) > “The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present.” [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. We keep seeking future experiences because the present feels lacking, prompting endless striving. **In simple terms:** We chase the future because now feels empty. Key Takeaway Find fulfillment in the present moment. Themes mindfulness contentment existentialism Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily meditation - creative work - relationships - mindful eating Key Concepts present-awareness impermanence psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does “impoverished present” mean to you? - How can you enrich today? A Different Perspective The present can still be improved; seeking change isn’t always negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [People with an impoverished vocabulary live an impoverished emotional life; people with rich vocabularies have a multihued palette of colors with which to paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/people-with-an-impoverished-vocabulary-live-an-impoverished-emotional/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Your the reason why I want to go to school! Your the reason I live! Your my everything! And I think I love you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-tellez/your-the-reason-why-i-want-to-go-to-school-your-the-reason-i-live/) [Dianna Tellez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-tellez/) > [“I realized my knowledge of that potentially damning evidence gave Delilah a reason to want me out of the way. “Out of the way”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-realized-my-knowledge-of-that-potentially-damning-evidence-gave/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [You don't want him for a reason. You want him because he's your father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-him-for-a-reason-you-want-him-because-he-s-your-father/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just want to grow up. I love that my mom thinks I'll fail. Just another reason I want to move out. Perfect person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-want-to-grow-up-i-love-that-my-mom-thinks-i-ll-fail-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because for whatever reason, even though I want to stay home all the time and be left alone, I want to tell the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/because-for-whatever-reason-even-though-i-want-to-stay-home-all-the/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [“There are infinite reasons not to do it, yet there's only one reason to do it:You want to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walker/there-are-infinite-reasons-not-to-do-it-yet-there-s-only-one-reason/) Christopher Walker > [If anything hard times should be the main reason you want to chase your dream so you can turn them times around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-anything-hard-times-should-be-the-main-reason-you-want-to-chase/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The reason you want every single thing that you want, is because you think you will feel really good when you get there. 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You’re the reason I want to stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-hainsworth/it-doesn-t-matter-why-i-want-to-leave-you-re-the-reason-i-want-to-stay/) Emily Hainsworth > [The reason why I'm here today is to explain why I am running and what I will do if you give me the honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/the-reason-why-i-m-here-today-is-to-explain-why-i-am-running-and-what/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [If we reason that we want happiness for others, not for ourselves, then we ought justly to be suspected of failing to recognize human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/if-we-reason-that-we-want-happiness-for-others-not-for-ourselves-then/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [That's the reason you want to become a star as an actor, to be able to have more control of your destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/that-s-the-reason-you-want-to-become-a-star-as-an-actor-to-be-able-to/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [The last reason I want to be hired is because of my gender. I want to be hired because you trust me, because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-hammon/the-last-reason-i-want-to-be-hired-is-because-of-my-gender-i-want-to/) [Becky Hammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-hammon/) > [“This is new to me, Win. I’ve never left a girlfriend behind before. I just wanted you to know that I don’t want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-robinson/this-is-new-to-me-win-i-ve-never-left-a-girlfriend-behind-before-i/) [Rachel Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-robinson/) ## 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 Impoverished quotes > [We believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-b-mcmullin/we-believe-that-a-person-who-is-impoverished-temporally-cannot/) [Keith B. McMullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-b-mcmullin/) > [There are none so impoverished as those who do not acknowledge the abundance of their lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/there-are-none-so-impoverished-as-those-who-do-not-acknowledge-the/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [When art is defined by Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, you've got a society that's impoverished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/when-art-is-defined-by-damien-hirst-and-jeff-koons-you-ve-got-a/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [All of us, poor & rich alike, have been conditioned by our upbringings. Impoverished men & women may become lulled into a state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/all-of-us-poor-rich-alike-have-been-conditioned-by-our-upbringings/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The court's recent understanding of religion as a private matter for individuals has plainly become malnourished and impoverished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-v-monsma/the-court-s-recent-understanding-of-religion-as-a-private-matter-for/) Stephen V Monsma > [When I was an impoverished graduate student, I would sometimes spend $20 or $30 on a T-shirt or accessory I didn't need or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/when-i-was-an-impoverished-graduate-student-i-would-sometimes-spend/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I covered the Lebanese civil war. I could see a place that had once been prosperous and now was impoverished. I'm not seeing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/i-covered-the-lebanese-civil-war-i-could-see-a-place-that-had-once/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I don't see evidence of America being a poorer country than it was 20 years ago. I've seen impoverished devastation. I've seen places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/i-don-t-see-evidence-of-america-being-a-poorer-country-than-it-was-20/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The impoverished always try to keep moving, as if relocating might help. They ignore the reality that a new version of the same old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/the-impoverished-always-try-to-keep-moving-as-if-relocating-might/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“Don’t let affluence make you impoverished of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bloom/don-t-let-affluence-make-you-impoverished-of-god/) [Jon Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bloom/) > [Like contemporary poetry, philosophy is one of those things, especially at the beginning stages, most people would rather do than study - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/like-contemporary-poetry-philosophy-is-one-of-those-things-especially/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Wal-Mart impoverished its own customer base. Google is facing exactly the same issue long-term, although not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/wal-mart-impoverished-its-own-customer-base-google-is-facing-exactly/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“To rise out of poverty you must change your way of thinking. You can’t live in abundance with impoverished thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/to-rise-out-of-poverty-you-must-change-your-way-of-thinking-you-can-t/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“There's something impoverished in those who want to really have everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-scheerbart/there-s-something-impoverished-in-those-who-want-to-really-have/) Paul Scheerbart > [The contemporary Christian mind is starved, and as a result we have small, impoverished souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-moreland/the-contemporary-christian-mind-is-starved-and-as-a-result-we-have/) [J.P. Moreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-moreland/) Browse all 67 Impoverished quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Watts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-because-we-live-in-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Impoverished" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-because-we-live-in-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/alan-watts-587_intelligence_the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-be_2019380.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/alan-watts-587_intelligence_the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-be_2019380.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/alan-watts-587_intelligence_the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-be_2019380.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present.” — 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 reason we want to go...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-because-we-live-in-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-reason-we-want-to-go-on-and-on-is-because-we-live-in-an/#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 } } ] } ```