---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But to know that you are not present is a…"
description: "\"“But to know that you are not present is a great success:”\" — Eckhart Tolle"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/eckhart-tolle-81_success_but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is_1411329.jpg"
---

#  But to know that you are not present is a great success:

![“But to know that you are not present is a great success:” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/eckhart-tolle-81_success_but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is_1411329.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/eckhart-tolle-81_success_but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is_1411329.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/eckhart-tolle-81_success_but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is_1411329.jpg)

> ““But to know that you are not present is a great success:””

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Recognizing one’s absence is a sign of personal growth.

**In simple terms:** Being absent can be progress.

Key Takeaway

Value self-awareness and presence.

Themes

mindfulness growth self-awareness

Mood

calm reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- therapy
- personal development
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

consciousness psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “not present” mean to you?
- How does this insight change behavior?

A Different Perspective

May be misinterpreted as disengagement.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-success/) [Know Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-present-383946/) [Present Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-great-1888051/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/)

## Related quotes

> [To have common glories in the past, a common will in the present; to have done great things together, to will to do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/to-have-common-glories-in-the-past-a-common-will-in-the-present-to-2/)

[Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/)

> [“The present is a great treasure, live in the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-present-is-a-great-treasure-live-in-the-present/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [If past was great then future could be great, but if present is great then who cares for past and future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-yadav/if-past-was-great-then-future-could-be-great-but-if-present-is-great/)

[Vivek Yadav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-yadav/)

> [I do not want to live more from the past. I have my present and a great future that is on the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-deulofeu/i-do-not-want-to-live-more-from-the-past-i-have-my-present-and-a/)

[Gerard Deulofeu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-deulofeu/)

> [The present is great with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-present-is-great-with-the-future/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [Life is too short, Stop doubting about the future, motivate yourself, step up and take responsibility for making your present a great story for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/life-is-too-short-stop-doubting-about-the-future-motivate-yourself/)

[Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/)

> [To have common glories in the past, a common will in the present; to have done great things together; to wish to do greater;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/to-have-common-glories-in-the-past-a-common-will-in-the-present-to/)

[Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/)

> [Our growth has been very fast but in every place we've gone, we've achieved great success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-mckelvey/our-growth-has-been-very-fast-but-in-every-place-we-ve-gone-we-ve/)

[Miguel McKelvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-mckelvey/)

> [Why should you trouble yourself about the future? You do not even properly know about the present. Take care of the present, the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/why-should-you-trouble-yourself-about-the-future-you-do-not-even/)

[Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/)

> [He that hopes to look back hereafter with satisfaction upon past years must learn to know the present value of single minutes, and endeavour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-that-hopes-to-look-back-hereafter-with-satisfaction-upon-past/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Trust is difficult to define, but we know when it's present and when it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/trust-is-difficult-to-define-but-we-know-when-it-s-present-and-when/)

[Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/)

> [Understanding the past requires pretending that you don't know the present. It requires feeling its own pressure on your pulses without any ex post…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/understanding-the-past-requires-pretending-that-you-don-t-know-the/)

[Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/)

> [Man can only be certain about the present moment. But is that quite true either? Can he really know the present? Is he in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/man-can-only-be-certain-about-the-present-moment-but-is-that-quite/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [“You want to be a soothsayer, but do you know your present? Can you be a witness of each one of your breaths? Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidija-stankovikj/you-want-to-be-a-soothsayer-but-do-you-know-your-present-can-you-be-a/)

[Lidija Stankovikj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidija-stankovikj/)

> [We do not know enough about how the present will lead into the future. We shall never be able to say, "Ha! My perception,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-do-not-know-enough-about-how-the-present-will-lead-into-the-future/)

[Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/)

## More by Eckhart Tolle

> [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“A powerful spiritual practice is consciously to allow the diminishment of ego when it happens without attempting to restore it. I recommend that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-powerful-spiritual-practice-is-consciously-to-allow-the/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [To become aware of the subtlety of nature you need to be alert. The moment you become alert you become still... thinking subsides. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-become-aware-of-the-subtlety-of-nature-you-need-to-be-alert-the/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-not-honoring-the-present-moment-by-allowing-it-to-be-you/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a joyous energy behind what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/on-a-deeper-level-you-are-already-complete-when-you-realize-that/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/life-will-give-you-whatever-experience-is-most-helpful-for-the/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [You may not yet be able to bring your unconscious mind activity into awareness as thoughts, but it will always be reflected in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-may-not-yet-be-able-to-bring-your-unconscious-mind-activity-into/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“War is a mind-set, and all action that comes out of such a mind-set will either strengthen the enemy, the perceived evil, or, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/war-is-a-mind-set-and-all-action-that-comes-out-of-such-a-mind-set/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Get the inside right, and the outside will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/get-the-inside-right-and-the-outside-will-take-care-of-itself/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [It is very hard to tell when I started to be a spiritual teacher. There was a time when occasionally somebody would come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/it-is-very-hard-to-tell-when-i-started-to-be-a-spiritual-teacher/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Most people spend their entire life imprisoned within the confines of their own thoughts. They never go beyond a narrow, mind-made, personalized sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/most-people-spend-their-entire-life-imprisoned-within-the-confines-of/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Let the end of the world be inside you, then you don't need to fear the end of the world out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/let-the-end-of-the-world-be-inside-you-then-you-don-t-need-to-fear/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“Jeste li zabrinuti? Razmišljate li često: »Što bi bilo da sam...?« To znači da ste se poistovjetili s umom, koji se projicira u neku…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/jeste-li-zabrinuti-razmi-ljate-li-esto-to-bi-bilo-da-sam-to-zna-i-da/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

[Explore all 1,493 Eckhart Tolle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

## More Great quotes

> [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/)

[William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/)

> [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/)

[Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/)

> [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/)

[Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/)

> [I'm very proud of some of the stories I've been given thanks to the team at 'Emmerdale,' they've been great over the years so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-fletcher/i-m-very-proud-of-some-of-the-stories-i-ve-been-given-thanks-to-the/)

[Kelvin Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-fletcher/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [To me, Caribbean food is about fresh, seasonal produce - using what's in season to create vibrant and great tasting food. The spicing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-harriott/to-me-caribbean-food-is-about-fresh-seasonal-produce-using-what-s-in/)

[Ainsley Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-harriott/)

> [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/)

[Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/)

> [No matter how many great things you say about Jacques Pepin, there's always more. Through his books and videos, he taught me the importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenji-lopez-alt/no-matter-how-many-great-things-you-say-about-jacques-pepin-there-s/)

[J. Kenji Lopez-Alt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenji-lopez-alt/)

> [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/)

[Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/)

> [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/)

[Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/)

> [I always bump into people that Ive met. Not great friends, but if I bump into somebody Ive known and I wont recognise them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-franchitti/i-always-bump-into-people-that-ive-met-not-great-friends-but-if-i/)

[Dario Franchitti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-franchitti/)

> [Performance matters because games are built on great performance, but form factor and energy efficiency matter incredibly because they want to build something that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jensen-huang/performance-matters-because-games-are-built-on-great-performance-but/)

[Jensen Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jensen-huang/)

> [I'm a lot of things, but none of them are great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-nelson/i-m-a-lot-of-things-but-none-of-them-are-great/)

[Don Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-nelson/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/)

[Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/)

[Browse all 24,273 Great quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“But to know that you are not present is a great success:”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eckhart Tolle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is-a-great-success/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Great"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is-a-great-success/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/eckhart-tolle-81_success_but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is_1411329.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/eckhart-tolle-81_success_but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is_1411329.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/eckhart-tolle-81_success_but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is_1411329.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“But to know that you are not present is a great success:” — Eckhart Tolle",
                "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": "Eckhart Tolle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“But to know that you are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is-a-great-success/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/but-to-know-that-you-are-not-present-is-a-great-success/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
