--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Creative power flourishes only when I am…" description: "\"Creative power flourishes only when I am living in the present.\" — Brenda Ueland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brenda-ueland-3836_creative_creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am_2799902.png" --- # Creative power flourishes only when I am living in the… ![“Creative power flourishes only when I am living in the present.” quote by Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brenda-ueland-3836_creative_creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am_2799902.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brenda-ueland-3836_creative_creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am_2799902.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brenda-ueland-3836_creative_creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am_2799902.png) > “Creative power flourishes only when I am living in the present.” [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative energy thrives when one lives fully in the present moment, emphasizing mindfulness for artistic vitality. **In simple terms:** Creativity grows when living in the now. Key Takeaway Practice present‑moment awareness. Themes creativity mindfulness presence artistic growth Mood inspired focused Type motivational practical When to use this quote - writing - painting - performance - daily meditation Key Concepts flow state temporal focus Questions to Reflect On - How does present focus enhance creativity? - What habits keep you grounded? A Different Perspective Distractions hinder presence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-power/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Flourishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourishes/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live in the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-present/) [Living in the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-in-the-present/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [“Dei sub numine viget, Under God's power she flourishes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princeton-university/dei-sub-numine-viget-under-god-s-power-she-flourishes/) Princeton University > [One has to practice wisdom through living in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/one-has-to-practice-wisdom-through-living-in-the-present/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [I've never chased a dream. I believe in living in the present, so I see myself happy and cooking. That's all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranveer-brar/i-ve-never-chased-a-dream-i-believe-in-living-in-the-present-so-i-see/) [Ranveer Brar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranveer-brar/) > [“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living the future. If you are at peace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-depressed-you-are-living-in-the-past-if-you-are-anxious-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is happening right now. Instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, practice being and living in the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-happening-right-now-instead-of-dwelling-on-the-past-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just do me a favor. Don't call me 'former teen heartthrob,' okay? It's as if they were constantly discussing your second year of college.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cassidy/just-do-me-a-favor-don-t-call-me-former-teen-heartthrob-okay-it-s-as/) [David Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cassidy/) > [We lose the joy of living in the present when we worry about the future..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-lose-the-joy-of-living-in-the-present-when-we-worry-about-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You just do the best you can. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to get worse the more you do it. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loudon-wainwright-iii/you-just-do-the-best-you-can-it-doesn-t-necessarily-mean-that-you/) [Loudon Wainwright III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loudon-wainwright-iii/) > [Right now is a miracle. Right now is the only moment guaranteed to us. Right now is life. So let us stop thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/right-now-is-a-miracle-right-now-is-the-only-moment-guaranteed-to-us/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [I believe in living in the present and making each day count. I don't pay much attention to the past or the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-believe-in-living-in-the-present-and-making-each-day-count-i-don-t/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [The more thoughts of the past we carry in our heart. The less capable we are of loving and living in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/the-more-thoughts-of-the-past-we-carry-in-our-heart-the-less-capable/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Living in the present is the way to go. I know firsthand about getting caught up in the hurts of the past and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-marino/living-in-the-present-is-the-way-to-go-i-know-firsthand-about-getting/) [Renee Marino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-marino/) > [“If you are depressed, you are living in the past; if you are anxious, you are living in the present; if you are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-you-are-depressed-you-are-living-in-the-past-if-you-are-anxious/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [If you are at peace, you are living in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-you-are-at-peace-you-are-living-in-the-present/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Only one person in a thousand knows the trick of really living in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/only-one-person-in-a-thousand-knows-the-trick-of-really-living-in-the/) [Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/) ## More by Brenda Ueland > [“At least I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-least-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-i-did-not-wear-torn-pants-orthopedic-shoes-frantic-disheveled-hair/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“\[4It is hard to be carefree when you have many anxieties. But the more you have, the more necessary it is to feel carefree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/4it-is-hard-to-be-carefree-when-you-have-many-anxieties-but-the-more/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long five- or six-mile walk helps. And one must go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-will-tell-you-what-i-have-learned-myself-for-me-a-long-five-or-six/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Self-trust is so important. When you launch on a story, make your neck loose, feel free, good-natured. And be lazy. Feel that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/self-trust-is-so-important-when-you-launch-on-a-story-make-your-neck/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [We start out in our lives as little children, full of light and the clearest vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/we-start-out-in-our-lives-as-little-children-full-of-light-and-the/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Inspiration comes to us slowly and quietly . prime it with a little solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/inspiration-comes-to-us-slowly-and-quietly-prime-it-with-a-little/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... to paint with oil paints for the first time ... is like trying to make something exquisitely accurate and microscopically clear out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/to-paint-with-oil-paints-for-the-first-time-is-like-trying-to-make/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [running is the right thing to do! I am free, healthy with a good complexion. It is that automobile addict who should be ashamed:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/running-is-the-right-thing-to-do-i-am-free-healthy-with-a-good/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [The only good teachers for you are those friends who love you, who think you are interesting, or very important, or wonderfully funny; whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-only-good-teachers-for-you-are-those-friends-who-love-you-who/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... when I am really alone some power seems to grow in me. ... Conjugality made me think of a three-legged race, where two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-i-am-really-alone-some-power-seems-to-grow-in-me-conjugality/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“In the same way there is much, much in all of us, but we do not know it. No one ever calls it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/in-the-same-way-there-is-much-much-in-all-of-us-but-we-do-not-know-it/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-we-are-listened-to-it-creates-us-makes-us-unfold-and-expand/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“...the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it. And what is the purpose of existence Here or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-best-way-to-know-the-truth-or-beauty-is-to-try-to-express-it-and/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Sometimes I think of life as a process where everybody is discouraging and taking everybody else down a peg or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/sometimes-i-think-of-life-as-a-process-where-everybody-is/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) [Explore all 121 Brenda Ueland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## More Creative quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Money is only used for two things. One, it's to make you comfortable, and the more comfortable you are the more creative you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/money-is-only-used-for-two-things-one-it-s-to-make-you-comfortable/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [I can't let fear kill my creative brain. Fear is the killer. Your bad choices come from fear. And I'm constantly combating fear. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-can-t-let-fear-kill-my-creative-brain-fear-is-the-killer-your-bad/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Anytime I get the chance to sing or work with Michael John, it is such an incredibly fertile and incredibly creative and safe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audra-mcdonald/anytime-i-get-the-chance-to-sing-or-work-with-michael-john-it-is-such/) [Audra McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audra-mcdonald/) > [What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [when times are tough, the weak bail and the tough get creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/when-times-are-tough-the-weak-bail-and-the-tough-get-creative/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/teasing-out-the-way-the-world-might-look-through-another-s-eyes-is/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Browse all 7,284 Creative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Creative power flourishes only when I am living in the present.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brenda Ueland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am-living-in-the-present/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creative" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am-living-in-the-present/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brenda-ueland-3836_creative_creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am_2799902.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brenda-ueland-3836_creative_creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am_2799902.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brenda-ueland-3836_creative_creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am_2799902.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Creative power flourishes only when I am living in the present.” — Brenda Ueland", "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": "Brenda Ueland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Creative power flourishes only when I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am-living-in-the-present/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/creative-power-flourishes-only-when-i-am-living-in-the-present/#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 } } ] } ```