--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wake up thinking of yesterday. The joy…" description: "\"I wake up thinking of yesterday. The joy is in remembering; the pain is in knowing it was yesterday.\" — David Levithan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/david-levithan-67_joy_i-wake-up-thinking-of-yesterday-the-joy_1869355.jpg" --- # I wake up thinking of yesterday. The joy is in… ![“I wake up thinking of yesterday. The joy is in remembering; the pain is in knowing it was yesterday.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/david-levithan-67_joy_i-wake-up-thinking-of-yesterday-the-joy_1869355.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/david-levithan-67_joy_i-wake-up-thinking-of-yesterday-the-joy_1869355.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/david-levithan-67_joy_i-wake-up-thinking-of-yesterday-the-joy_1869355.jpg) > “I wake up thinking of yesterday. The joy is in remembering; the pain is in knowing it was yesterday.” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflecting on the past brings both joy and sorrow, highlighting how memory shapes present emotions. **In simple terms:** Remembering yesterday gives joy and pain. Key Takeaway Embrace memories, learn from them. Themes memory emotion reflection Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal journaling - grief counseling - celebration of life - mindfulness practice Key Concepts nostalgia temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - What does yesterday teach you about today? - How can you balance joy and pain in memory? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on past can hinder present growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) ## Related quotes > [“The joy is in remembering; the pain is in knowing it was yesterday”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-joy-is-in-remembering-the-pain-is-in-knowing-it-was-yesterday/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Often I felt like two people. One went into the world and did the living for the other, who was stuck in an endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wyndham-thomas/often-i-felt-like-two-people-one-went-into-the-world-and-did-the/) [Michael Wyndham Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wyndham-thomas/) > [The biggest thing in today's sorrow is the memory of yesterday's joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-biggest-thing-in-today-s-sorrow-is-the-memory-of-yesterday-s-joy/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [But nobody ever forgot anything, not really, though sometimes they pretended, when it suited them. Memories were permanent. Sorrowful ones remained sad even with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/but-nobody-ever-forgot-anything-not-really-though-sometimes-they/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [You cannot have a better tomorrow if you're still thinking about yesterday's problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyga/you-cannot-have-a-better-tomorrow-if-you-re-still-thinking-about/) [Tyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyga/) > [You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-have-a-better-tomorrow-if-you-are-thinking-about-yesterday/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The all-knowing yesterday is obsolete today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-all-knowing-yesterday-is-obsolete-today/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Forgetting you is like forgetting my to breath. Remembering the pain is like remembering my name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgetting-you-is-like-forgetting-my-to-breath-remembering-the-pain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgiving is not forgetting. Forgiving is remembering without pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-cruz/forgiving-is-not-forgetting-forgiving-is-remembering-without-pain/) [Celia Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-cruz/) > [“Do not keep on remembering the pain that your previous relationship has caused you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-donovan/do-not-keep-on-remembering-the-pain-that-your-previous-relationship/) Craig Donovan > [“Right Understanding means feeling terrible, remembering pain is finite, and taking some solace from that remembering. 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It's like driving a car using a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-loomis/the-trouble-with-research-is-that-it-tells-you-what-people-were/) Bernard Loomis ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. 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Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More Joy quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“When you finally realize your gifts and talents, joy and satisfaction come as you walk in your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-richards-ross/when-you-finally-realize-your-gifts-and-talents-joy-and-satisfaction/) [Sanya Richards-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-richards-ross/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [Safin, in his way, is very talented. It is a joy to watch them play; it is tennis of a very high quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-krajicek/safin-in-his-way-is-very-talented-it-is-a-joy-to-watch-them-play-it/) [Richard Krajicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-krajicek/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [“Start the daily practice of joyful living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/start-the-daily-practice-of-joyful-living/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/i-have-touched-with-a-sense-of-art-some-people-they-felt-the-love-and/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) [Browse all 15,003 Joy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wake up thinking of yesterday. 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