--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were going to have such a short…" description: "\"If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had to do everything possible to experience it now.\" — Elizabeth Gilbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/elizabeth-gilbert-131_earth_if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-vis_1377587.jpg" --- # If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had… ![“If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had to do everything possible to experience it now.” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/elizabeth-gilbert-131_earth_if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-vis_1377587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/elizabeth-gilbert-131_earth_if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-vis_1377587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/elizabeth-gilbert-131_earth_if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-vis_1377587.jpg) > “If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had to do everything possible to experience it now.” [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is short; seize experiences now rather than waiting. **In simple terms:** Live fully in the present. Key Takeaway Act now, embrace opportunities. Themes life urgency experience Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - travel - career changes - relationships - creative projects Key Concepts mindfulness carpe diem personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What would you do if you had no fear? - How can you balance urgency with planning? A Different Perspective Immediate action may ignore long‑term consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“My hypersensitive awareness of time's speed led me to push myself to experience life at a maximum pace. If I were going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/my-hypersensitive-awareness-of-time-s-speed-led-me-to-push-myself-to/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-hagen/you-re-only-here-for-a-short-visit-don-t-hurry-don-t-worry-and-be/) [Walter Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-hagen/) > [Don 't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So don't forget to stop and smell the roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-hagen/don-t-hurry-don-t-worry-you-re-only-here-for-a-short-visit-so-don-t-2/) [Walter Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-hagen/) > [Life is like a very short visit to a toyshop between birth and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-morris/life-is-like-a-very-short-visit-to-a-toyshop-between-birth-and-death/) [Desmond Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-morris/) > [Don't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So don't forget to stop and smell the roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-hagen/don-t-hurry-don-t-worry-you-re-only-here-for-a-short-visit-so-don-t/) [Walter Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-hagen/) > [My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/my-job-as-a-human-being-as-well-as-a-writer-is-to-feel-as-thoroughly/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Well the planet I've got a chance to visit is Earth, and Earth's principal features are chaos and war. I think I'd be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/well-the-planet-i-ve-got-a-chance-to-visit-is-earth-and-earth-s/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Poetry brings all possible experience to the same degree: a degree in the consciousness beyond which the consciousness itself cannot go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/poetry-brings-all-possible-experience-to-the-same-degree-a-degree-in/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [You're letting go of having the best possible experience you can have regardless of who you are and where you are. I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/you-re-letting-go-of-having-the-best-possible-experience-you-can-have/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [“Endless numbers of people surround you as you travel through life. Some you notice briefly, then forget. With others you make eye contact, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/endless-numbers-of-people-surround-you-as-you-travel-through-life/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [The big goal - and it sounds crazy - is to save as much life on Earth as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/the-big-goal-and-it-sounds-crazy-is-to-save-as-much-life-on-earth-as/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [I don't have a circus around me, and that's a choice. I like to be on Planet Earth as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-groban/i-don-t-have-a-circus-around-me-and-that-s-a-choice-i-like-to-be-on/) [Josh Groban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-groban/) > [“But some things on earth were possible, and some were not, and Ruti knew the difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/but-some-things-on-earth-were-possible-and-some-were-not-and-ruti/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [What if you could find brand new worlds, right here on Earth, where anything is possible? Same planet, different dimension. I've found the gateway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-o-connell/what-if-you-could-find-brand-new-worlds-right-here-on-earth-where/) [Jerry O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-o-connell/) > [It's important that we attempt to extend life beyond Earth now. It is the first time in the four billion-year history of Earth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/it-s-important-that-we-attempt-to-extend-life-beyond-earth-now-it-is/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) ## More by Elizabeth Gilbert > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) [Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More Earth quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [What did you do to save the world today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/what-did-you-do-to-save-the-world-today/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) [Browse all 15,455 Earth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had to do everything possible to experience it now.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-visit-on-earth-i-had-to-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Earth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-visit-on-earth-i-had-to-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/elizabeth-gilbert-131_earth_if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-vis_1377587.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/elizabeth-gilbert-131_earth_if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-vis_1377587.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/elizabeth-gilbert-131_earth_if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-vis_1377587.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had to do everything possible to experience it now.” — Elizabeth Gilbert", "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": "Elizabeth Gilbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I were going to have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-visit-on-earth-i-had-to-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-i-were-going-to-have-such-a-short-visit-on-earth-i-had-to-do/#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 } } ] } ```