--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know already that I will return to this…" description: "\"I know already that I will return to this day whenever I want to. I can bid it alive. Preserve it. There is a still point where the present, the now, w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/colum-mccann-902_alive_i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-thi_2729815.jpg" --- # I know already that I will return to this day whenever I… ![“I know already that I will return to this day whenever I want to. I can bid it alive. Preserve it. There is a still point where the present, the now, winds around itself, and nothing is tangled. The river is not where it begins or ends, but right in the middle point, anchored by what has happened…” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/colum-mccann-902_alive_i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-thi_2729815.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/colum-mccann-902_alive_i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-thi_2729815.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/colum-mccann-902_alive_i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-thi_2729815.jpg) > “I know already that I will return to this day whenever I want to. I can bid it alive. Preserve it. There is a still point where the present, the now, winds around itself, and nothing is tangled. The river is not where it begins or ends, but right in the middle point, anchored by what has happened and what is to arrive.” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes a timeless mental space where present moments are anchored by past and future, creating a serene, untangled awareness. **In simple terms:** A calm present moment connects past and future. Key Takeaway Cultivate mindful presence. Themes mindfulness time presence reflection serenity Mood calm contemplative inspired Type philosophical reflective motivational When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - stress relief - decision making - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy psychology temporal awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you create a still point in a hectic day? - What does anchoring the present to past and future change your perspective? A Different Perspective It may be difficult to sustain this stillness amid daily distractions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [“The river is not where it begins or ends, but right in the middle point, anchored by what has happened and what is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-river-is-not-where-it-begins-or-ends-but-right-in-the-middle/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Memory should be the starting point of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/memory-should-be-the-starting-point-of-the-present/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Many a calm river begins as a turbulent waterfall, yet none hurtles and foams all the way to the sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/many-a-calm-river-begins-as-a-turbulent-waterfall-yet-none-hurtles/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“The river is one of my favorite metaphors, the symbol of the great flow of Life Itself. The river begins at Source, and returns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-anderson/the-river-is-one-of-my-favorite-metaphors-the-symbol-of-the-great/) [Jeffrey R. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-anderson/) > [I love you like a river that begins as a solitary trickle in the mountains and gradually grows and joins other rivers until, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-love-you-like-a-river-that-begins-as-a-solitary-trickle-in-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I love short stories. They're like small imploding universes. They are very tightly bound and controlled. I'd been wanting to write one for ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-love-short-stories-they-re-like-small-imploding-universes-they-are/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Holocaust denial, once the preserve of fringe conspiracy theorists, has mutated into Holocaust obfuscation, equivocation, and specious comparison on a larger scale than ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephraim-mirvis/holocaust-denial-once-the-preserve-of-fringe-conspiracy-theorists-has/) [Ephraim Mirvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephraim-mirvis/) > [It's impossible to overstate how my relationship to music forms a preserve for the esoteric or even spiritual aspect of my relationship to cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-s-impossible-to-overstate-how-my-relationship-to-music-forms-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“The Lord preserve us from sainthood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/the-lord-preserve-us-from-sainthood/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [“Law is made by the winner to preserve victory over the loser.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta-betelgeuse-incident/law-is-made-by-the-winner-to-preserve-victory-over-the-loser/) [Toba Beta \[Betelgeuse Incident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta-betelgeuse-incident/) > [Reclassification is the best way to for us to preserve the Internet as an unfettered tool for communication and the sharing of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-schumer/reclassification-is-the-best-way-to-for-us-to-preserve-the-internet/) [Chuck Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-schumer/) > [Is it possible to preserve the element of Unknown Places in our national life? Is it practicable to do so, without undue loss in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/is-it-possible-to-preserve-the-element-of-unknown-places-in-our/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [Preserve your energy - do not waste it on mediocre activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-wilde/preserve-your-energy-do-not-waste-it-on-mediocre-activity/) [Stuart Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-wilde/) > [No price is too great to preserve the health of the fleet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-price-is-too-great-to-preserve-the-health-of-the-fleet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) ## More by Colum McCann > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-so-sure-that-i-can-teach-people-how-to-you-know-write/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Once we had filled each other with desire, not remembrance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/once-we-had-filled-each-other-with-desire-not-remembrance/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“How long ago it was and how strange, but all dead friends come to life again sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/how-long-ago-it-was-and-how-strange-but-all-dead-friends-come-to-life/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She would want, instead, to recall him in the air, between layers of cloud. To give him back that ancient dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-would-want-instead-to-recall-him-in-the-air-between-layers-of/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-a-silence-that-heard-itself-awful-and-beautiful/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think one of the biggest political failures, and the biggest social failures, over the past few years has been the failure of empathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-think-one-of-the-biggest-political-failures-and-the-biggest-social/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. "It's like dust. You walk about and don't see it, don't notice it, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/bits-of-it-floating-in-the-air-he-said-it-s-like-dust-you-walk-about/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“He has read whole volumes on the philosophy of nonviolence. How peace had to be understood in all its moral dimensions. The proper coexistence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-has-read-whole-volumes-on-the-philosophy-of-nonviolence-how-peace/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She’s always thought that one of the beauties of New York is that you can be from anywhere and within moments of landing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-s-always-thought-that-one-of-the-beauties-of-new-york-is-that-you/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm of the opinion that the real is imagined and the imagined is quite real. The real is imagined, in the sense that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-the-real-is-imagined-and-the-imagined-is/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She had that emigrant’s sadness—she would never go back to her old country—it was gone in more senses than one—but she was forever gazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-had-that-emigrant-s-sadness-she-would-never-go-back-to-her-old/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) [Explore all 333 Colum McCann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know already that I will return to this day whenever I want to. I can bid it alive. Preserve it. There is a still point where the present, the now, winds around itself, and nothing is tangled. The river is not where it begins or ends, but right in the middle point, anchored by what has happened and what is to arrive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colum McCann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-this-day-whenever-i-want-to-i-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-this-day-whenever-i-want-to-i-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/colum-mccann-902_alive_i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-thi_2729815.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/colum-mccann-902_alive_i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-thi_2729815.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/colum-mccann-902_alive_i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-thi_2729815.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I know already that I will return to this day whenever I want to. I can bid it alive. Preserve it. There is…” — Colum McCann", "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": "Colum McCann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I know already that I will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-this-day-whenever-i-want-to-i-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-this-day-whenever-i-want-to-i-2/#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 } } ] } ```