--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I should explain that I really did…" description: "\"“I should explain that I really did travel, but everything smacks to me of merely telling myself that I travelled, although I didn’t. I carried back an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/fernando-pessoa-177_future_i-should-explain-that-i-really-did-trave_2504957.jpg" --- # I should explain that I really did travel, but everything… ![“I should explain that I really did travel, but everything smacks to me of merely telling myself that I travelled, although I didn’t. I carried back and forth, from north to south and east to west, the weariness of having had a past, the disquiet of living a present, and the tedium of having to…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/fernando-pessoa-177_future_i-should-explain-that-i-really-did-trave_2504957.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/fernando-pessoa-177_future_i-should-explain-that-i-really-did-trave_2504957.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0a/fernando-pessoa-177_future_i-should-explain-that-i-really-did-trave_2504957.jpg) > ““I should explain that I really did travel, but everything smacks to me of merely telling myself that I travelled, although I didn’t. I carried back and forth, from north to south and east to west, the weariness of having had a past, the disquiet of living a present, and the tedium of having to have a future. And yet I struggle so hard to remain entirely in the present, killing inside me the past and the future.”” [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 feels trapped between past, present, and future, trying to stay fully present while the weight of time burdens them. **In simple terms:** Struggling to live only in the now despite past and future pressures. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness to quiet past and future thoughts. Themes mindfulness existentialism temporal awareness Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily meditation - creative work - therapy sessions - journaling Key Concepts self-reflection psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can you notice when past or future thoughts arise? - What simple practice helps you return to the present? A Different Perspective The past and future may still intrude despite effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [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/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Weariness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weariness/) ## Related quotes > [I don’t keep a travel diary. I did keep a travel diary once and it was a big mistake. All I remember of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/i-don-t-keep-a-travel-diary-i-did-keep-a-travel-diary-once-and-it-was/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [When I began writing that I was able and did travel and met some fascinating people and also uncovered some history, which has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hailey/when-i-began-writing-that-i-was-able-and-did-travel-and-met-some/) [Arthur Hailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hailey/) > [My grandfather did not travel across 4,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this country overrun by immigrants. He did it because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/my-grandfather-did-not-travel-across-4-000-miles-of-the-atlantic/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I was working for a Swedish TV show - I'm Swedish - who basically did kind of spectacular stories. It was almost like CBS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malik-bendjelloul/i-was-working-for-a-swedish-tv-show-i-m-swedish-who-basically-did/) [Malik Bendjelloul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malik-bendjelloul/) > [I went to every sports contest for my kids. I turned off my cell phone at 8 P.M. I did have to travel relentlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-edelman/i-went-to-every-sports-contest-for-my-kids-i-turned-off-my-cell-phone/) [Richard Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-edelman/) > [I'm a lot less travelled as an adult than I was as a child, but I think living in far flung places gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-m-a-lot-less-travelled-as-an-adult-than-i-was-as-a-child-but-i/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [My father was an airline pilot, so we travelled more spontaneously than a lot of families. On a Thursday, we could decide to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hadfield/my-father-was-an-airline-pilot-so-we-travelled-more-spontaneously/) [Chris Hadfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hadfield/) > [“you were last seen walking through a field of pianos. no. a museum of mouths. in the kitchen of a bustling restaurant, cracking eggs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-falley/you-were-last-seen-walking-through-a-field-of-pianos-no-a-museum-of/) Megan Falley > [One thing I wish I'd done differently in my career is insist on having friends or family on tour. I was really young when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-nurding/one-thing-i-wish-i-d-done-differently-in-my-career-is-insist-on/) [Louise Nurding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-nurding/) > [Having travelled and lived and worked in many different places, I was keen to come back and settle in Nottingham, partly because my family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-monaghan/having-travelled-and-lived-and-worked-in-many-different-places-i-was/) [Nicola Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-monaghan/) > [The places I've travelled and cultures I've experienced have been reflected in my home decor choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karlie-kloss/the-places-i-ve-travelled-and-cultures-i-ve-experienced-have-been/) [Karlie Kloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karlie-kloss/) > [I've learnt that, even though I've travelled about, I haven't changed that much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/i-ve-learnt-that-even-though-i-ve-travelled-about-i-haven-t-changed/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [You know, we travelled a lot when I was a kid because my father was wherever the work was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katey-sagal/you-know-we-travelled-a-lot-when-i-was-a-kid-because-my-father-was/) [Katey Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katey-sagal/) > [I have been brought up watching world cinema, and I have travelled a lot, so I am very comfortable with my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhika-apte/i-have-been-brought-up-watching-world-cinema-and-i-have-travelled-a/) [Radhika Apte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhika-apte/) > [“Your destiny is the only path to be travelled by you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/your-destiny-is-the-only-path-to-be-travelled-by-you/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## 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/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [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/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“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/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [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/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [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/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [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/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/a-strong-durable-puerto-rican-economy-will-leave-the-island-better/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) [Browse all 12,349 Future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I should explain that I really did travel, but everything smacks to me of merely telling myself that I travelled, although I didn’t. I carried back and forth, from north to south and east to west, the weariness of having had a past, the disquiet of living a present, and the tedium of having to have a future. 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