--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the present is the merest flicker between…" description: "\"the present is the merest flicker between the long long time past and the things that haven't yet happened but most assuredly will.\" — Estela Portillo ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/estela-portillo-trambley-82498_flicker_the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-betwee_921670.jpg" --- # the present is the merest flicker between the long long… ![“the present is the merest flicker between the long long time past and the things that haven't yet happened but most assuredly will.” quote by Estela Portillo Trambley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/estela-portillo-trambley-82498_flicker_the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-betwee_921670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/estela-portillo-trambley-82498_flicker_the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-betwee_921670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/estela-portillo-trambley-82498_flicker_the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-betwee_921670.jpg) > “the present is the merest flicker between the long long time past and the things that haven't yet happened but most assuredly will.” Estela Portillo Trambley ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The present is a brief flicker between the distant past and the inevitable future. **In simple terms:** Present is a tiny moment between past and future. Key Takeaway Appreciate the fleeting present. Themes philosophy time existence Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - mindfulness practice - historical reflection - future planning Key Concepts Temporal perception ephemerality continuity Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience the present? - What does the 'flicker' suggest about time? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on fleeting present may cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-past/) ## Related quotes > [I like to spend time in the past, with the things that have been important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/i-like-to-spend-time-in-the-past-with-the-things-that-have-been/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Time past cannot be stopped, saved, or regained. But a photograph allows you to borrow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-mcculloh/time-past-cannot-be-stopped-saved-or-regained-but-a-photograph-allows/) [Douglas McCulloh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-mcculloh/) > [Prudence is a presumption of the future, contracted from the experience of time past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/prudence-is-a-presumption-of-the-future-contracted-from-the/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [time past is not time gone, it is time accumulated with the host resembling the character in the fairytale who was joined along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/time-past-is-not-time-gone-it-is-time-accumulated-with-the-host/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [Time past and time future allow but a little consciousness. To be conscious is not to be in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/time-past-and-time-future-allow-but-a-little-consciousness-to-be/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [I have been searching for time past all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanloup-sieff/i-have-been-searching-for-time-past-all-my-life/) [Jeanloup Sieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanloup-sieff/) > [The more you are focused on time-past and future-the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-more-you-are-focused-on-time-past-and-future-the-more-you-miss/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I am 46, and have been for some time past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-brookner/i-am-46-and-have-been-for-some-time-past/) [Anita Brookner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-brookner/) > [Time past, even God is deprived of the power of recalling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/time-past-even-god-is-deprived-of-the-power-of-recalling/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [He who would foresee what is to happen should look to what has happened: for all that is has its counterpart in time past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/he-who-would-foresee-what-is-to-happen-should-look-to-what-has/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I know people who do a lot of drugs, and they keep thinking about things from the past and things ahead. But they're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-masterson/i-know-people-who-do-a-lot-of-drugs-and-they-keep-thinking-about/) [Danny Masterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-masterson/) > [“Why were people always asking me about things in my past, the things I wanted to keep hidden? But then, why did my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-holman/why-were-people-always-asking-me-about-things-in-my-past-the-things-i/) [Sarah Holman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-holman/) > [“And there are certain moments in your life when something becomes clear, and other things in the past - things that your mind, unbeknownst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-asher/and-there-are-certain-moments-in-your-life-when-something-becomes/) [Bridget Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-asher/) > [Nostalgia has become so much more popular because technology and climate change are visibly present. It's easy to idolize the past, before those things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weyes-blood/nostalgia-has-become-so-much-more-popular-because-technology-and/) [Weyes Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weyes-blood/) > [I saw my whole life in front of me, and I had to let go of past things that I was trying to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-lohan/i-saw-my-whole-life-in-front-of-me-and-i-had-to-let-go-of-past-things/) [Lindsay Lohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-lohan/) ## More by Estela Portillo Trambley > [The smell of rain is rich with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estela-portillo-trambley/the-smell-of-rain-is-rich-with-life/) Estela Portillo Trambley > [Rain knows the earth and loves it well, for rain is the passion of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estela-portillo-trambley/rain-knows-the-earth-and-loves-it-well-for-rain-is-the-passion-of-the/) Estela Portillo Trambley Explore all 3 Estela Portillo Trambley quotes ## More Flicker quotes > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Started as a flicker, meant to be a flame. Skin has gotten thicker, but it burns the same. Still a baby in a cradle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/started-as-a-flicker-meant-to-be-a-flame-skin-has-gotten-thicker-but/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [Risk is relative. And relative to the imminent planetary 'game over' neon sign that's starting to flicker above our children's heads, just as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hampton/risk-is-relative-and-relative-to-the-imminent-planetary-game-over/) [Dave Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hampton/) > [“We live in the flicker - may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/we-live-in-the-flicker-may-it-last-as-long-as-the-old-earth-keeps/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [How can I make difference so that I may bring peace to this world that I love and cherish so much? A name flickers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/how-can-i-make-difference-so-that-i-may-bring-peace-to-this-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If you can wiggle your toes with the mere flicker of an intention, why can't you reset your biological clock?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-you-can-wiggle-your-toes-with-the-mere-flicker-of-an-intention-why/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Though the passion still flutters and flickers, it never got into our knickers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/though-the-passion-still-flutters-and-flickers-it-never-got-into-our/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [This life in us; however low it flickers or fiercely burns, is still a divine flame which no man dare presume to put out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/this-life-in-us-however-low-it-flickers-or-fiercely-burns-is-still-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [As a relentless gatherer of moments, I find that my favorite images, although grounded in the present, are like spirits shaped by memories. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plachy/as-a-relentless-gatherer-of-moments-i-find-that-my-favorite-images/) [Sylvia Plachy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plachy/) > [Love is like a friendship caught on fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/love-is-like-a-friendship-caught-on-fire/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [In all that you are living... As the problem flickers, the solution flickers too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/in-all-that-you-are-living-as-the-problem-flickers-the-solution/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“There's this small flicker in time when you're looking down the barrel of a gun and instead of your life flashing before your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melyssa-winchester/there-s-this-small-flicker-in-time-when-you-re-looking-down-the/) [Melyssa Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melyssa-winchester/) > [“My heart lost rhythm at the flicker of phantom in the whiskey-stained voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iceberg-slim/my-heart-lost-rhythm-at-the-flicker-of-phantom-in-the-whiskey-stained/) [Iceberg Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iceberg-slim/) > [The password is a flicker of an eyelash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-password-is-a-flicker-of-an-eyelash/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“The fluorescent light overhead hums and has a flicker that I sense more than see. There’s a constellation of dead bugs in the fixture’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-decarlo/the-fluorescent-light-overhead-hums-and-has-a-flicker-that-i-sense/) [Melissa DeCarlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-decarlo/) Browse all 106 Flicker quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "the present is the merest flicker between the long long time past and the things that haven't yet happened but most assuredly will.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Estela Portillo Trambley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estela-portillo-trambley/the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-between-the-long-long-time-past-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flicker" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estela-portillo-trambley/the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-between-the-long-long-time-past-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/estela-portillo-trambley-82498_flicker_the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-betwee_921670.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/estela-portillo-trambley-82498_flicker_the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-betwee_921670.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/estela-portillo-trambley-82498_flicker_the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-betwee_921670.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the present is the merest flicker between the long long time past and the things that haven't yet happened…” — Estela Portillo Trambley", "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": "Estela Portillo Trambley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estela-portillo-trambley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "the present is the merest flicker...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estela-portillo-trambley/the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-between-the-long-long-time-past-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estela-portillo-trambley/the-present-is-the-merest-flicker-between-the-long-long-time-past-and/#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 } } ] } ```