--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a qualitatively different kind…" description: "\"“There is a qualitatively different kind of waiting, one that requires your total alertness. Something could happen at any moment, and if you are not a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/eckhart-tolle-81_quote_there-is-a-qualitatively-different-kind_2020530.jpg" --- # There is a qualitatively different kind of waiting, one… ![“There is a qualitatively different kind of waiting, one that requires your total alertness. Something could happen at any moment, and if you are not absolutely awake, absolutely still, you will miss it. This is the kind of waiting Jesus talks about. In that state, all your attention is in the Now…” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/eckhart-tolle-81_quote_there-is-a-qualitatively-different-kind_2020530.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/eckhart-tolle-81_quote_there-is-a-qualitatively-different-kind_2020530.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/eckhart-tolle-81_quote_there-is-a-qualitatively-different-kind_2020530.jpg) > ““There is a qualitatively different kind of waiting, one that requires your total alertness. Something could happen at any moment, and if you are not absolutely awake, absolutely still, you will miss it. This is the kind of waiting Jesus talks about. In that state, all your attention is in the Now. There is none left for daydreaming, thinking, remembering, anticipating.”” [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. True waiting demands full presence; any distraction causes missed opportunities. **In simple terms:** Waiting requires total alertness. Key Takeaway Practice deep present‑moment awareness. Themes mindfulness patience presence Mood calm focused Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - waiting for news - pre‑performance anxiety Key Concepts spirituality consciousness Questions to Reflect On - Can you sustain complete awareness in daily life? - What practices help you stay present? A Different Perspective Remaining fully alert can be exhausting over long periods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alertness Happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alertness-happen-3658148/) [Anticipating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anticipating-1026264/) [Remembering Anticipating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering-anticipating-3658147/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Waiting Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-jesus-2722071/) ## Related quotes > [“After his rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Welton just stared straight ahead at the alter as if he were waiting for Jesus to climb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rapp/after-his-rendition-of-the-star-spangled-banner-welton-just-stared/) [Adam Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rapp/) > [What are we waiting for? Why is Jesus waiting in heaven at the right hand of the Father? Who is He waiting for? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-paulk/what-are-we-waiting-for-why-is-jesus-waiting-in-heaven-at-the-right/) [Earl Paulk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-paulk/) > [“The figure of the passing-away world, 1 Cor. vii. 31. is like an old man's face, full of wrinkles, and foul with weeping: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/the-figure-of-the-passing-away-world-1-cor-vii-31-is-like-an-old-man/) [Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/) > [The world is anxiously waiting to see what Jesus Christ can do in, by, for, and through one man wholly given to him -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-buchman/the-world-is-anxiously-waiting-to-see-what-jesus-christ-can-do-in-by/) [Frank Buchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-buchman/) > [Too many people are waiting for Jesus to come along and cut your grass. And Jesus isn't going to come along and cut your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/too-many-people-are-waiting-for-jesus-to-come-along-and-cut-your/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [People are anticipating my next move, and whatever it's going to be, it's going to be big. I'm not fussy over my opponent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-till/people-are-anticipating-my-next-move-and-whatever-it-s-going-to-be-it/) [Darren Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-till/) > [He's started anticipating what's going to happen before it's even happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-le-saux/he-s-started-anticipating-what-s-going-to-happen-before-it-s-even/) [Graeme Le Saux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-le-saux/) > [I get off on anticipating and waiting much more than I get off on the actual event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/i-get-off-on-anticipating-and-waiting-much-more-than-i-get-off-on-the/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Anticipating problems and figuring out how to solve them is actually the opposite of worrying: it's productive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hadfield/anticipating-problems-and-figuring-out-how-to-solve-them-is-actually/) [Chris Hadfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hadfield/) > [One of the greatest things in human life is the ability to make plans. Even if they never come true-the joy of anticipating is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-von-trapp/one-of-the-greatest-things-in-human-life-is-the-ability-to-make-plans/) [Maria von Trapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-von-trapp/) > [“Anticipating God's blessings is a great way to begin a new week! When we look for the things that could go wrong, we just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-k-chamberlain/anticipating-god-s-blessings-is-a-great-way-to-begin-a-new-week-when/) [Diane K Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-k-chamberlain/) > [I don't seem to have ever had a plan, but I have always been quite good at walking through doors when they are opened.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-fellowes/i-don-t-seem-to-have-ever-had-a-plan-but-i-have-always-been-quite/) [Julian Fellowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-fellowes/) > [It takes a little time, but the pleasures of cooking begin before the pleasures of the palate, and preparing means anticipating ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/it-takes-a-little-time-but-the-pleasures-of-cooking-begin-before-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The wise man avoids evil by anticipating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/the-wise-man-avoids-evil-by-anticipating-it/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Maintain an attitude of anticipating success!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tae-yun-kim/maintain-an-attitude-of-anticipating-success/) [Tae Yun Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tae-yun-kim/) ## 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 Waiting quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Tonight I feel like a prisoner on fire, waiting desperately... denied, sentenced forever more. Only your love can set me free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bolton/tonight-i-feel-like-a-prisoner-on-fire-waiting-desperately-denied/) [Michael Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bolton/) > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Life is a helluva thing. You can see trouble coming and you can't do a damn thing to prevent it coming. You just got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-helluva-thing-you-can-see-trouble-coming-and-you-can-t-do-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I could be in another country but if someone is waiting on me and they call, I always say I'll be there in 5 minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-could-be-in-another-country-but-if-someone-is-waiting-on-me-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [“It's killing me not to do everything in my power to beg you to be with me. To wait for me, because I'm waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-perry/it-s-killing-me-not-to-do-everything-in-my-power-to-beg-you-to-be/) [Jolene Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-perry/) [Browse all 10,248 Waiting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is a qualitatively different kind of waiting, one that requires your total alertness. Something could happen at any moment, and if you are not absolutely awake, absolutely still, you will miss it. This is the kind of waiting Jesus talks about. In that state, all your attention is in the Now. 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