--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If only, I feel now, if only I could be…" description: "\"“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with it than that of seeing it, someone able to ob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/fernando-pessoa-177_first-time_if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-so_13696.jpg" --- # If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to… ![“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with it than that of seeing it, someone able to observe everything as if he were an adult traveler newly arrived today on the surface of life! If only one had not learned, from birth onwards, to…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/fernando-pessoa-177_first-time_if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-so_13696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/fernando-pessoa-177_first-time_if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-so_13696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/fernando-pessoa-177_first-time_if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-so_13696.jpg) > ““If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with it than that of seeing it, someone able to observe everything as if he were an adult traveler newly arrived today on the surface of life! If only one had not learned, from birth onwards, to give certain accepted meanings to everything, but instead was able to see the meaning inherent in each thing rather than that imposed on it from without. If only one could know the human reality of the woman selling fish and go beyond just labeling her a fishwife and the known fact that she exists and sells fish. If only one could see the policeman as God sees him. If only one could notice everything for the first time, not apocalyptically, as if they were revelations of the Mystery, but directly as the flowerings of Reality.”” [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. A yearning for unconditioned perception that strips away learned labels to encounter each thing in its raw, inherent reality. **In simple terms:** Seeing without preconceptions. Key Takeaway True insight requires shedding cultural conditioning. Themes perception ontological awareness authenticity mindfulness epistemology Mood wonder reverence curiosity Type philosophical reflective poetic When to use this quote - first encounter with everyday objects - meeting a street vendor - observing a police officer - traveling to a new city - contemplating daily routines Key Concepts subject‑object relation social labeling existential observation Practical Applications - philosophical writing - mindfulness training Questions to Reflect On - How do our cultural narratives shape what we consider 'real'? - What practices can help us experience things anew? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [God Sees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-sees/) [Human Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-reality-375211/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-learned/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) ## Related quotes > [Technical civilization has made a great error in not suppressing death, the only human reality still intact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/technical-civilization-has-made-a-great-error-in-not-suppressing/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“Most human beings strongly believe that money is way less important than the life of a human being, but in reality five hundred, fifty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-human-beings-strongly-believe-that-money-is-way-less-important/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“A young person always extrapolates human reality from her own life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/a-young-person-always-extrapolates-human-reality-from-her-own-life/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [ \[Speaking of marriage and family\] In this entire world there is not a more perfect, more complete image of God, Unity and Community. 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I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/in-sum-one-of-the-primary-things-i-learned-was-how-to-kill-time-i/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) ## 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/) > [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. 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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. 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