--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So briefly do we raise our heads, so…" description: "\"So briefly do we raise our heads, so quick sink back. For a moment we are lifted by a wave of time, are tossed up into the sunlight of consciousness We..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/allen-wheelis-39009_able_so-briefly-do-we-raise-our-heads-so-quic_1176566.jpg" --- # So briefly do we raise our heads, so quick sink back. For… ![“So briefly do we raise our heads, so quick sink back. For a moment we are lifted by a wave of time, are tossed up into the sunlight of consciousness We cannot see so far as where this wave began, but maybe we have waited some thousand years for it to come, and now it is on us. This is our moment…” quote by Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/allen-wheelis-39009_able_so-briefly-do-we-raise-our-heads-so-quic_1176566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/allen-wheelis-39009_able_so-briefly-do-we-raise-our-heads-so-quic_1176566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/308/allen-wheelis-39009_able_so-briefly-do-we-raise-our-heads-so-quic_1176566.jpg) > “So briefly do we raise our heads, so quick sink back. For a moment we are lifted by a wave of time, are tossed up into the sunlight of consciousness We cannot see so far as where this wave began, but maybe we have waited some thousand years for it to come, and now it is on us. This is our moment, the wave is breaking. The crest which passes through us now in tumult was shaped by the past, and we in this moment are able to shape the crest which is to come.” [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We experience fleeting moments of heightened awareness that connect us to past influences and future possibilities, urging us to act in the present. **In simple terms:** Brief awakenings link past and future, urging present action. Key Takeaway Seize the present and shape the future. Themes awareness time agency reflection Mood reflective inspired thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal decisionmaking - creative projects - leadership moments - mindfulness practice Key Concepts existentialism psychology causality Questions to Reflect On - How do you turn insight into action? - What past patterns shape your current choices? A Different Perspective Our perception is limited; we may overestimate our impact on future events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Sunlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunlight/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tumult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tumult/) ## Related quotes > [Painting a line across canvas with a brush is similar to the motion of a wave breaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-heilmann/painting-a-line-across-canvas-with-a-brush-is-similar-to-the-motion/) Mary Heilmann > [I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and struck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-had-been-my-whole-life-a-bell-and-never-knew-it-until-at-that/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“ Let no rough waters rend apart Two who have become one heart. For love's no love that can't withstand A rogue wave breaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/let-no-rough-waters-rend-apart-two-who-have-become-one-heart-for-love/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) > [“Everyone dies, honey," I said, very quietly. "Everyone. There's no 'if.' There's only 'when.'" I let that sink in for a moment. " When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/everyone-dies-honey-i-said-very-quietly-everyone-there-s-no-if-there/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“I was still ringing. I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-was-still-ringing-i-had-been-my-whole-life-a-bell-and-never-knew-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Do not move, do not go. Sink within this moment. Hold it for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/do-not-move-do-not-go-sink-within-this-moment-hold-it-for-ever/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [When you don't flow freely with life in the present moment, it usually means that you're holding on to a past moment. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/when-you-don-t-flow-freely-with-life-in-the-present-moment-it-usually/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [“The moment you start owning your past is the moment you start changing your future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-fields/the-moment-you-start-owning-your-past-is-the-moment-you-start/) [L.M. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-fields/) > [This moment - the one you're experiencing right now - is the culmination of all the moments you have experienced in the past. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/this-moment-the-one-you-re-experiencing-right-now-is-the-culmination/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Hang out in the present not the future or the past.Each moment is His gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-malabago/hang-out-in-the-present-not-the-future-or-the-past-each-moment-is-his/) [Regina Malabago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-malabago/) > [There's nothing in the future and there's nothing in the past. There is only this one moment, and you've got to make it last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/there-s-nothing-in-the-future-and-there-s-nothing-in-the-past-there/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [Die to the past every moment. You don't need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present. Feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/die-to-the-past-every-moment-you-don-t-need-it-only-refer-to-it-when/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We cannot overstate our debt to the Past, but the moment has the supreme claim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-cannot-overstate-our-debt-to-the-past-but-the-moment-has-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The very old, he thought, make our past. Once they go it seems for a moment that neither it nor we have any real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-2/the-very-old-he-thought-make-our-past-once-they-go-it-seems-for-a/) [P.D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james-2/) > [I've seen death in the past and hope in the future. All I've is a now for I can not see past this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/i-ve-seen-death-in-the-past-and-hope-in-the-future-all-i-ve-is-a-now/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) ## More by Allen Wheelis > [“Matter would have the universe a uniform dispersion, motionless, complete. Spirit would have an earth, a heaven and a hell, whirl and conflict, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/matter-would-have-the-universe-a-uniform-dispersion-motionless/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [The sequence is suffering, insight, will, action, change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/the-sequence-is-suffering-insight-will-action-change/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [“Dirty old men are dirty because they are hanging on to life. Sex is the life force, and the nearer they come to death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/dirty-old-men-are-dirty-because-they-are-hanging-on-to-life-sex-is/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [“I remember a spring night in a school auditorium, during the rehearsal of a play. I am thirteen. I am weary of the farce,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/i-remember-a-spring-night-in-a-school-auditorium-during-the-rehearsal/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [The spirit of science is not to prejudge, but to give any honest query a fair shake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/the-spirit-of-science-is-not-to-prejudge-but-to-give-any-honest-query/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [Freedom is the awareness of alternatives and of the ability to choose. 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We become nihilists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/certainty-is-not-to-be-had-but-as-we-learn-this-we-become-not-more/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [Desire is endless and unappeasable, is most intense where most forbidden, and is never far from despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/desire-is-endless-and-unappeasable-is-most-intense-where-most/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [One can often recognize herd animals by their tendency to carry bibles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/one-can-often-recognize-herd-animals-by-their-tendency-to-carry-bibles/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) [Explore all 11 Allen Wheelis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So briefly do we raise our heads, so quick sink back. For a moment we are lifted by a wave of time, are tossed up into the sunlight of consciousness We cannot see so far as where this wave began, but maybe we have waited some thousand years for it to come, and now it is on us. This is our moment, the wave is breaking. 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