--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Future is, of all things, the thing…" description: "\"The Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most temporal part of time--for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/anonymous-1_eternity_the-future-is-of-all-things-the-thing-le_1088577.jpg" --- # The Future is, of all things, the thing least like… ![“The Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most temporal part of time--for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/anonymous-1_eternity_the-future-is-of-all-things-the-thing-le_1088577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/anonymous-1_eternity_the-future-is-of-all-things-the-thing-le_1088577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f6/anonymous-1_eternity_the-future-is-of-all-things-the-thing-le_1088577.jpg) > “The Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most temporal part of time--for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time is divided: the past is fixed, the present shines, the future is fleeting. **In simple terms:** The future is the most temporary part of time. Key Takeaway Focus on present actions while acknowledging impermanence. Themes time impermanence existence Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - historical analysis - creative writing Key Concepts philosophy temporal theory Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing time's flow affect your choices? - What can you do now that matters later? A Different Perspective The future's transience can cause anxiety about planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Every minute with you feels like a second of heaven, but every second without you feels like an eternity of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-minute-with-you-feels-like-a-second-of-heaven-but-every-second/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The hours we spend apart seem like years,the days spent apart seems like an eternity. But the minutes spent together makes me keep on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hours-we-spend-apart-seem-like-years-the-days-spent-apart-seems/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How very near us stand the two vast gulfs of time, the past and the future, in which all things disappear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/how-very-near-us-stand-the-two-vast-gulfs-of-time-the-past-and-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [As much as we all talk about the future and how so many things are merging, there is a simplicity that is crucial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-seacrest/as-much-as-we-all-talk-about-the-future-and-how-so-many-things-are/) [Ryan Seacrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-seacrest/) > [I like to think about the future and how things can be done better than they are now. That's what engineers do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cooper/i-like-to-think-about-the-future-and-how-things-can-be-done-better/) [Martin Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cooper/) > [The man of the future may, and even must, do things impossible in the past and acquire new motor variations not given by heredity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/the-man-of-the-future-may-and-even-must-do-things-impossible-in-the/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/they-re-already-taking-my-future-they-can-t-have-the-things-that/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“I may not write new wisdoms nor new ideas. I write things which are about to happen in the future, things which might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/i-may-not-write-new-wisdoms-nor-new-ideas-i-write-things-which-are/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [I see that in the future, things that we have lost in the past will be recovered. There's a search for those things, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-see-that-in-the-future-things-that-we-have-lost-in-the-past-will-be/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“I want him when you’re done with him,” Rach pipes up, sending me a teasing grin. “You’ll be waiting a while,” I reply, accepting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-davis/i-want-him-when-you-re-done-with-him-rach-pipes-up-sending-me-a/) [Siobhan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-davis/) > [“In the end, the train stood 2 hours motionless in the middle of nowhere. Every minute seemed like an eternity. Time felt crept by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/in-the-end-the-train-stood-2-hours-motionless-in-the-middle-of/) [Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/) > [“Our love will never faultier like the sun will never fees, my soul will never leave yours like eternity will never end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-belivok/our-love-will-never-faultier-like-the-sun-will-never-fees-my-soul/) Dimitri Belivok > [“Three days seemed like an eternity when the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/three-days-seemed-like-an-eternity-when-the/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [“341 days seems like an eternity when you can't see people you love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-ross/341-days-seems-like-an-eternity-when-you-can-t-see-people-you-love/) Julia Ross > [A day without you is like eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markson-bero/a-day-without-you-is-like-eternity/) [Markson Bero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markson-bero/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. 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