---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always live in the present. I don’t…"
description: "\"I always live in the present. I don’t know the future and no longer have the past. The former oppresses me as the possibility of everything, the latter..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/fernando-pessoa-177_former_i-always-live-in-the-present-i-don-t-kno_2781238.jpg"
---

#  I always live in the present. I don’t know the future and…

![“I always live in the present. I don’t know the future and no longer have the past. The former oppresses me as the possibility of everything, the latter as the reality of nothing.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/fernando-pessoa-177_former_i-always-live-in-the-present-i-don-t-kno_2781238.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/fernando-pessoa-177_former_i-always-live-in-the-present-i-don-t-kno_2781238.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/fernando-pessoa-177_former_i-always-live-in-the-present-i-don-t-kno_2781238.jpg)

> “I always live in the present. I don’t know the future and no longer have the past. The former oppresses me as the possibility of everything, the latter as the reality of nothing.”

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker lives only in the present, rejecting past and future to avoid oppression and emptiness.

**In simple terms:** Live solely in the present.

Key Takeaway

Focus on present moments.

Themes

philosophy mindfulness existentialism

Mood

tranquil thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- meditation
- creative writing
- therapy sessions

Key Concepts

temporal perception self‑awareness

Questions to Reflect On

- What benefits arise from present focus?
- How can one balance past lessons with present living?

A Different Perspective

May ignore valuable lessons from past/future.

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[Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Latter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latter/) [Live in the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-present/) [Live Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-present/) [Oppresses Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppresses-possibility-3311713/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Oppresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-oppresses-3311712/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Possibility Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility-reality-1909494/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [I always live in the present. The future I can't know. The past I no longer have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-always-live-in-the-present-the-future-i-can-t-know-the-past-i-no/)

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> [Others see their possibility in the reality of you. Your message is your life lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/others-see-their-possibility-in-the-reality-of-you-your-message-is/)

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> [Future is about creating value. If we have tools to empower each other, more possibility is reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-jackley/future-is-about-creating-value-if-we-have-tools-to-empower-each-other/)

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> [An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility into reality; our desires being often but precursors of the things which we are capable of performing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/an-intense-anticipation-itself-transforms-possibility-into-reality/)

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> [“Every single desire can lead to dream and every single dream has possibility to become reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/every-single-desire-can-lead-to-dream-and-every-single-dream-has/)

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> [“learn from the past live in the present plan for the future”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-farrell/learn-from-the-past-live-in-the-present-plan-for-the-future/)

[Audrey Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-farrell/)

> [“I don’t get anchored to the past or consumed by the future. I live in the present, always propelling forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-hultman/i-don-t-get-anchored-to-the-past-or-consumed-by-the-future-i-live-in/)

[Brandon Hultman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-hultman/)

> [I live in the present; there is nothing more important than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauricio-pochettino/i-live-in-the-present-there-is-nothing-more-important-than-that/)

[Mauricio Pochettino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauricio-pochettino/)

> [“live in the present not the past , because is not worth going to the same path of the ugliness past”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xena-viera/live-in-the-present-not-the-past-because-is-not-worth-going-to-the/)

[Xena Viera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xena-viera/)

> [“Up to this time I had always lived in the future and felt that I was simply getting ready for something. Now I began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/up-to-this-time-i-had-always-lived-in-the-future-and-felt-that-i-was/)

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> [But you have to live in the present. You have to take the old and make it new -- that's my point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/but-you-have-to-live-in-the-present-you-have-to-take-the-old-and-make/)

[Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/)

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[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

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[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

## More by Fernando Pessoa

> [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/)

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> [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

> [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/)

[Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/)

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> [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/)

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> [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/)

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> [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/)

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> [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/)

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