---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a time when it is necessary to…"
description: "\"There is a time when it is necessary to abandon the used clothes, which already have the shape of our body and to forget our paths, which takes us alwa..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/fernando-pessoa-177_abandon_there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to_1274121.jpg"
---

#  There is a time when it is necessary to abandon the used…

![“There is a time when it is necessary to abandon the used clothes, which already have the shape of our body and to forget our paths, which takes us always to the same places. This is the time to cross the river: and if we don't dare to do it, we will have stayed, forever beneath ourselves” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/fernando-pessoa-177_abandon_there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to_1274121.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/fernando-pessoa-177_abandon_there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to_1274121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/fernando-pessoa-177_abandon_there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to_1274121.jpg)

> “There is a time when it is necessary to abandon the used clothes, which already have the shape of our body and to forget our paths, which takes us always to the same places. This is the time to cross the river: and if we don't dare to do it, we will have stayed, forever beneath ourselves”

[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.

Letting go of familiar habits and identities is essential for personal growth and change.

**In simple terms:** Release old habits to grow.

Key Takeaway

Embrace change, cross the river.

Themes

growth identity change letting go

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- career transition
- relationship shifts
- creative reinvention
- spiritual awakening

Key Concepts

existentialism self‑transformation

Questions to Reflect On

- What familiar pattern holds you back?
- How can you safely step into the unknown?

A Different Perspective

Fear of the unknown can stall progress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) [Abandon Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon-used-4095138/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dare/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Necessary Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-abandon-562222/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Used Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-clothes-4095137/)

## Related quotes

> [It is necessary to abandon yourself completely, and let the music do as it will with you. All people come to music to seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/it-is-necessary-to-abandon-yourself-completely-and-let-the-music-do/)

[Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/)

> [If Im in Los Angeles and I find a pile of clothes lying on the side of the street that someone plans to throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/if-im-in-los-angeles-and-i-find-a-pile-of-clothes-lying-on-the-side/)

[Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/)

> [There will one day spring from the brain of science a machine or force so fearful in its potentialities, so absolutely terrifying, that even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/there-will-one-day-spring-from-the-brain-of-science-a-machine-or/)

[Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/)

> [I am a member of this body. Therefore, sir, I shall neither fawn nor cringe before any party, nor stoop to beg . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mcneal-turner/i-am-a-member-of-this-body-therefore-sir-i-shall-neither-fawn-nor/)

[Henry McNeal Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mcneal-turner/)

> [Four wings, two hearts, but only one soul. They connect in the middle, but are separated by a thin line of ash. Its what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/four-wings-two-hearts-but-only-one-soul-they-connect-in-the-middle/)

[Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/)

> [Should you encounter the enemy, he will be defeated! No quarter will be given! Prisoners will not be taken! Whoever falls into your hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-ii/should-you-encounter-the-enemy-he-will-be-defeated-no-quarter-will-be/)

[Wilhelm II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-ii/)

> [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/)

[Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/)

> [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/)

[Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/)

> [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/)

[Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/)

> [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/)

[Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/)

> [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/)

[T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/)

> [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/)

[Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/)

## 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 Abandon quotes

> [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/)

[Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/)

> [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/)

[T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/)

> [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/)

[Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/)

> [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/)

[Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/)

> [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/)

[Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/)

> [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/)

[Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/)

> [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/)

[Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/)

> [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/)

[Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/)

[Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is a time when it is necessary to abandon the used clothes, which already have the shape of our body and to forget our paths, which takes us always to the same places. This is the time to cross the river: and if we don't dare to do it, we will have stayed, forever beneath ourselves",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Fernando Pessoa"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to-abandon-the-used-clothes/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abandon"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to-abandon-the-used-clothes/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/fernando-pessoa-177_abandon_there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to_1274121.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/fernando-pessoa-177_abandon_there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to_1274121.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/fernando-pessoa-177_abandon_there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to_1274121.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is a time when it is necessary to abandon the used clothes, which already have the shape of our body…” — Fernando Pessoa",
                "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": "Fernando Pessoa",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is a time when it...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to-abandon-the-used-clothes/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/there-is-a-time-when-it-is-necessary-to-abandon-the-used-clothes/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
