--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing I like most about time is that…" description: "\"“The thing I like most about time is that it’s not real. It’s all in the head. Sure, it’s a useful trick if you wanna meet someone at a specific place ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/damien-echols-9457_time_the-thing-i-like-most-about-time-is-that_2074645.jpg" --- # The thing I like most about time is that it’s not real… ![“The thing I like most about time is that it’s not real. It’s all in the head. Sure, it’s a useful trick if you wanna meet someone at a specific place in the universe to have tea or coffee. But that’s all it is, a trick. There’s no such thing as the past, it exists only in the memory. There’s no…” quote by Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/damien-echols-9457_time_the-thing-i-like-most-about-time-is-that_2074645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/damien-echols-9457_time_the-thing-i-like-most-about-time-is-that_2074645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/damien-echols-9457_time_the-thing-i-like-most-about-time-is-that_2074645.jpg) > ““The thing I like most about time is that it’s not real. It’s all in the head. Sure, it’s a useful trick if you wanna meet someone at a specific place in the universe to have tea or coffee. But that’s all it is, a trick. There’s no such thing as the past, it exists only in the memory. There’s no such thing as the future, it exists only in our imagination. If our watches were truly accurate the only thing they would ever say is now.”” [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) ## 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 a mental construct; only the present truly exists. **In simple terms:** Time exists only in our minds. Key Takeaway Focus on the present moment. Themes philosophy perception time reality Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - decision making - planning - stress management - creative work Key Concepts physics cognitive science existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does this view change your daily habits? - Can we live fully in the now? A Different Perspective Humans rely on past/future concepts for practical coordination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The future exists only in our imagination it is a collective story waiting for our voices to express that can only happen when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawna-markova/the-future-exists-only-in-our-imagination-it-is-a-collective-story/) [Dawna Markova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawna-markova/) > [The more you observe life in relation to yourself the more you will see the fact that you are hardly ever correct when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-long/the-more-you-observe-life-in-relation-to-yourself-the-more-you-will/) [Barry Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-long/) > [“the past exists only in your mind,” he said. “Likewise, the future exists only in your mind because it has not happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-past-exists-only-in-your-mind-he-said-likewise-the-future-exists/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Time itself is only as real as your own mental discrimination between the revelation and concealment of the one Light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-micha-el-leventhal/time-itself-is-only-as-real-as-your-own-mental-discrimination-between/) [Eric Micha'el Leventhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-micha-el-leventhal/) > [For me, my travels have been the chance to go to a place that already exists in my imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-pratt/for-me-my-travels-have-been-the-chance-to-go-to-a-place-that-already/) [Hugo Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-pratt/) > [There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than to create a world that solely exists in your imagination and be able to pull someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/there-is-no-greater-feeling-of-accomplishment-than-to-create-a-world/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [They say that none of us exists, except in the imagination of his fellows, other than as an intangible, invisible mentality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/they-say-that-none-of-us-exists-except-in-the-imagination-of-his/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [Time limits are fictional. Losing all sense of time is actually the way to reality. We use clocks and calendars for convenience sake, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-marmon-silko/time-limits-are-fictional-losing-all-sense-of-time-is-actually-the/) [Leslie Marmon Silko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-marmon-silko/) > [Lack of time is a real health killer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilu-henner/lack-of-time-is-a-real-health-killer/) [Marilu Henner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilu-henner/) > [“I'm biding my time until my real life kicks in." "How will you know when that happens?" "It will be when I no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gj-walker-smith/i-m-biding-my-time-until-my-real-life-kicks-in-how-will-you-know-when/) GJ Walker-Smith > [From my own perspective, I love to see people who I know from television or film on stage because it puts them in real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-reid/from-my-own-perspective-i-love-to-see-people-who-i-know-from/) [Noah Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-reid/) > [You try and imagine what it must have been like to first see something moving on a screen. It must have blown your mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/you-try-and-imagine-what-it-must-have-been-like-to-first-see/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [Theatre is real-time - you get that real-time audience reaction, which is fantastic. And with art pieces, people don't ever have to explain themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-diller/theatre-is-real-time-you-get-that-real-time-audience-reaction-which/) [Elizabeth Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-diller/) > [Time is real, we can't rewind it... Out of everybody I met, who told the truth? Time did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common/time-is-real-we-can-t-rewind-it-out-of-everybody-i-met-who-told-the/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common/) > [I perform in art time and in real time, and you can't tell the difference - no one knows how to separate a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tehching-hsieh/i-perform-in-art-time-and-in-real-time-and-you-can-t-tell-the/) [Tehching Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tehching-hsieh/) ## More by Damien Echols > [“When we arrived we were met by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, both producers of the film. Lorri and I hadn't seen them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/when-we-arrived-we-were-met-by-peter-jackson-and-fran-walsh-both/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“For a split second, I realize completely and absolutely that the season of winter is sentient, that there is an intelligence behind it. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/for-a-split-second-i-realize-completely-and-absolutely-that-the/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“I've been keeping an eye out for the Charlie Brown Valentine's Day special. I know it will be on soon, and I never miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/i-ve-been-keeping-an-eye-out-for-the-charlie-brown-valentine-s-day/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“Morphic field. That's what it's called when a certain kind of energy pattern is repeated over and over until it creates something like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/morphic-field-that-s-what-it-s-called-when-a-certain-kind-of-energy/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“The jail clothes are designed to strip you of any identity and reduce you to a number. You don’t even feel like a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/the-jail-clothes-are-designed-to-strip-you-of-any-identity-and-reduce/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“The memory from Sundance that I hold dearest is a snowball fight. One night I went outside with Lorri, Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/the-memory-from-sundance-that-i-hold-dearest-is-a-snowball-fight-one/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“There is no time in prison, unless you create it for yourself. People on the outside seem to believe time passes slowly in prison,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/there-is-no-time-in-prison-unless-you-create-it-for-yourself-people/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“Nostalgia is the only friend that stays with you forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/nostalgia-is-the-only-friend-that-stays-with-you-forever/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“I learned a long time ago that you have to experience something for yourself or you never really comprehend it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/i-learned-a-long-time-ago-that-you-have-to-experience-something-for/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“What I crave more than anything today is to sit at an outdoor cafe on a cool autumn day. I just want to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/what-i-crave-more-than-anything-today-is-to-sit-at-an-outdoor-cafe-on/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“We always watched horror movies. As a child I remember sitting up into the early hours of the morning watching horror movies with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/we-always-watched-horror-movies-as-a-child-i-remember-sitting-up-into/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“From now on I will live in a state of joyous expectation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/from-now-on-i-will-live-in-a-state-of-joyous-expectation/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“The older I grow, the more I understand what the burned woman meant. Things I was able to walk through unscathed in my youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/the-older-i-grow-the-more-i-understand-what-the-burned-woman-meant/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“At home I used to walk through emotional wastelands where the lines on craggy faces were so deep that the wind whistled through them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/at-home-i-used-to-walk-through-emotional-wastelands-where-the-lines/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [“At least I was capable of knowing there was some other kind of life possible, even if I was having trouble achieving it. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/at-least-i-was-capable-of-knowing-there-was-some-other-kind-of-life/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) [Explore all 72 Damien Echols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) Levi Keely > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The thing I like most about time is that it’s not real. It’s all in the head. Sure, it’s a useful trick if you wanna meet someone at a specific place in the universe to have tea or coffee. But that’s all it is, a trick. There’s no such thing as the past, it exists only in the memory. There’s no such thing as the future, it exists only in our imagination. 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