--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes, I feel the past and the future…" description: "\"Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the present at all.\" — Evelyn Waugh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/evelyn-waugh-850_feel_sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future_1087817.png" --- # Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard… ![“Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the present at all.” quote by Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/evelyn-waugh-850_feel_sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future_1087817.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/evelyn-waugh-850_feel_sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future_1087817.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/evelyn-waugh-850_feel_sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future_1087817.png) > “Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the present at all.” [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The mind can be overwhelmed by regrets and anxieties, leaving no space for present awareness. **In simple terms:** Past and future can crowd out the present. Key Takeaway Cultivate present‑moment focus. Themes mindfulness anxiety temporal perception Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - daily meditation - stressful work - relationship conflicts Key Concepts existentialism psychology time perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you create mental space for now? - What habits pull you into past or future? A Different Perspective Ignoring present needs can worsen stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past And The Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-the-future/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that theres no room for the present at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future-pressing-so-hard-on-either/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The laws of science do not distinguish between the past and the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-laws-of-science-do-not-distinguish-between-the-past-and-the-future/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The future is foretold from the past and the future is only possible because of the past. Without past and future, the present is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-future-is-foretold-from-the-past-and-the-future-is-only-possible/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [The written word is the link between the past and the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-barnett/the-written-word-is-the-link-between-the-past-and-the-future/) Lincoln Barnett > [“Greek philosophers looked upon the past and the future as the primary evils weighing upon human life, and as the source of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-ferry/greek-philosophers-looked-upon-the-past-and-the-future-as-the-primary/) Luc Ferry > [The normal present connects the past and the future through limitation. Contiguity results, crystallization by means of solidification. There also exists, however, a spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/the-normal-present-connects-the-past-and-the-future-through/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [“Only by being present can you be happy. Too much attention to the past and the future takes the now away. And once it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-howe/only-by-being-present-can-you-be-happy-too-much-attention-to-the-past/) [Katherine Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-howe/) > [“I felt as though the past and the future, cause and effect, patterns and connections, were a huge complicated artifice, and it was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/i-felt-as-though-the-past-and-the-future-cause-and-effect-patterns/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“Your body moves always in the present, the dividing line between the past and the future, but your mind is more free. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/your-body-moves-always-in-the-present-the-dividing-line-between-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“The past and the future are not a collection of instants shared by all space, but a collection of events that correspond to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-alba-juez/the-past-and-the-future-are-not-a-collection-of-instants-shared-by/) [Felix Alba-Juez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-alba-juez/) > [“Inhale the present, exhale the past and the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/inhale-the-present-exhale-the-past-and-the-future/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The past and the future were just blinders we wore so that infinity wouldn’t drive us mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/the-past-and-the-future-were-just-blinders-we-wore-so-that-infinity/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [The past is an interpretation. The future is on illusion. The world does not more through time as if it were a straight line,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shams-tabrizi/the-past-is-an-interpretation-the-future-is-on-illusion-the-world/) [Shams Tabrizi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shams-tabrizi/) ## More by Evelyn Waugh > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [One can write, think and pray exclusively of others; dreams are all egocentric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/one-can-write-think-and-pray-exclusively-of-others-dreams-are-all/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Sometimes," Helena continued, "I have a terrible dream of the future. 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I shall come down your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/my-dear-i-should-like-to-stick-you-full-of-barbed-arrows-like-a-p-p/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [There is something incomparably thrilling in first opening a brand new book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/there-is-something-incomparably-thrilling-in-first-opening-a-brand/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Beware the Anglo-Catholics. They're all sodomites with unpleasant accents." --Cousin Jasper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/beware-the-anglo-catholics-they-re-all-sodomites-with-unpleasant/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“The fortnight at Venice passed quickly and sweetly-- perhaps too sweetly; I was drowning in honey, stingless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-fortnight-at-venice-passed-quickly-and-sweetly-perhaps-too/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long as I live, see you dancing like that again all by yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probably-never-as-long-as-i-live-see/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [I've always been bad. Probably I shall be bad again, punished again. But the worse I am, the more I need God. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/i-ve-always-been-bad-probably-i-shall-be-bad-again-punished-again-but/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Limbo is the place. In Limbo one has natural happiness without the beatific vision; no harps; no communal order; but wine and conversation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/limbo-is-the-place-in-limbo-one-has-natural-happiness-without-the/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“What is adolescence without trash?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/what-is-adolescence-without-trash/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Perhaps host and guest is really the happiest relation for father and son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/perhaps-host-and-guest-is-really-the-happiest-relation-for-father-and/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) [Explore all 347 Evelyn Waugh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) ## More Feel quotes > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. 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And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I feel as though I've fooled the world into thinking I'm an adult and now they're letting me procreate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-murray/i-feel-as-though-i-ve-fooled-the-world-into-thinking-i-m-an-adult-and/) [George Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-murray/) > [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [I like to wear bodysuits and things that make me feel really active and athletic and also really sensual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hawley-weld/i-like-to-wear-bodysuits-and-things-that-make-me-feel-really-active/) [Sophie Hawley-Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hawley-weld/) > [You can't force people to feel in a certain way, and the sooner you understand that,the better. I feel everything has its way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidharth-malhotra/you-can-t-force-people-to-feel-in-a-certain-way-and-the-sooner-you/) [Sidharth Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidharth-malhotra/) > [You make me feel brand new today. Even my day is full of trials and pain…Thanks for everything...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lantapi/you-make-me-feel-brand-new-today-even-my-day-is-full-of-trials-and/) [Richard Lantapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lantapi/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I don't know how people feel,that's the beauty of TV, is they can see us, but we can't see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-don-t-know-how-people-feel-that-s-the-beauty-of-tv-is-they-can-see/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) Browse all 26,675 Feel quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the present at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Evelyn Waugh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future-pressing-so-hard-on-either-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future-pressing-so-hard-on-either-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/evelyn-waugh-850_feel_sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future_1087817.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/evelyn-waugh-850_feel_sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future_1087817.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/evelyn-waugh-850_feel_sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future_1087817.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the…” — Evelyn Waugh", "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": "Evelyn Waugh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes, I feel the past and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future-pressing-so-hard-on-either-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-i-feel-the-past-and-the-future-pressing-so-hard-on-either-2/#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 } } ] } ```