--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First you must face your own reality in…" description: "\"“First you must face your own reality in the present, here and now! If you fail to do that, if you do not obtain first-hand experience from it, there w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/frank-m-wanderer-20681_awakening_first-you-must-face-your-own-reality-in_41909.jpg" --- # First you must face your own reality in the present, here… ![“First you must face your own reality in the present, here and now! If you fail to do that, if you do not obtain first-hand experience from it, there will be no deep, far-reaching changes in you.” quote by Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/frank-m-wanderer-20681_awakening_first-you-must-face-your-own-reality-in_41909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/frank-m-wanderer-20681_awakening_first-you-must-face-your-own-reality-in_41909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/frank-m-wanderer-20681_awakening_first-you-must-face-your-own-reality-in_41909.jpg) > ““First you must face your own reality in the present, here and now! If you fail to do that, if you do not obtain first-hand experience from it, there will be no deep, far-reaching changes in you.”” [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self-awareness in the present is prerequisite for genuine transformation; without confronting current reality, lasting change cannot emerge. **In simple terms:** Present awareness enables deep change. Key Takeaway Face reality now to evolve. Themes self-awareness personal growth mindfulness change authenticity Mood reflective motivational introspective Type advice philosophical motivational When to use this quote - coaching sessions - therapy - personal journaling - leadership retreats - habit formation Key Concepts present-moment perception experiential learning inner honesty Practical Applications - self‑assessment tools - mindfulness training Questions to Reflect On - What current belief blocks your growth? - How can you gather first‑hand evidence of your situation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Experience Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-deep-458655/) [Face reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-reality/) [Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present/) [Reaching Changes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaching-changes-458656/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-present-458654/) ## Related quotes > [All over the world there must be far-reaching changes in animal behavior and habitat; if only one could have another life in which to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/all-over-the-world-there-must-be-far-reaching-changes-in-animal/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [What I find most satisfying about photography is the way in which it allows me to document 'reality' while at the same time creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-smith/what-i-find-most-satisfying-about-photography-is-the-way-in-which-it/) [Alix Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-smith/) > [“From our first breath to our last, we’re presented again and again with the opportunity to experience deep, lasting, and trans-formative connection with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/from-our-first-breath-to-our-last-we-re-presented-again-and-again/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [“The common fund of experience is very deep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-common-fund-of-experience-is-very-deep/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“When you are living in the present moment, you will experience a deep sense of inner joy, peace and awareness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/when-you-are-living-in-the-present-moment-you-will-experience-a-deep/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [The reality is there is only each present moment: You are called to give a talk. You get out of a building and into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-reality-is-there-is-only-each-present-moment-you-are-called-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“tomorrow and plans for tomorrow can have no significance at all unless you are in full contact with the reality of the present, since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/tomorrow-and-plans-for-tomorrow-can-have-no-significance-at-all-2/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“I don't want you to have to handle it. That's the horror of my past. But you...you're the reality of my present. You're the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenner/i-don-t-want-you-to-have-to-handle-it-that-s-the-horror-of-my-past/) [J. 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For psychologically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-first-thing-necessary-for-a-constructive-dealing-with-time-is-to/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [I learnt that loneliness is not real; it only dwells in our lustful imagination. I learn that fear is not real; it only lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-uyi/i-learnt-that-loneliness-is-not-real-it-only-dwells-in-our-lustful/) [Angela Uyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-uyi/) > [The future has no other reality than as present hope, and the past is no more than present memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-future-has-no-other-reality-than-as-present-hope-and-the-past-is/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“There is no other reality than present reality, so that, even if one were to live for endless ages, to live for the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/there-is-no-other-reality-than-present-reality-so-that-even-if-one/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) ## More by Frank M. Wanderer > [“We therefore need to be patient with ourselves, and look upon our sense of guilt as Witnesses!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/we-therefore-need-to-be-patient-with-ourselves-and-look-upon-our/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“Ego is the central figure of our personal history, based upon the past and looking into the future. Ego is the deepest dream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/ego-is-the-central-figure-of-our-personal-history-based-upon-the-past/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“The Wanderer will stop when they recognize the activities of the mind and refuse to follow it any longer. The Wanderer realizes that with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/the-wanderer-will-stop-when-they-recognize-the-activities-of-the-mind/) [Frank M. 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Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“The truth is that we are the embodiment of Life, we are born into this world as a result of a miracle, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/the-truth-is-that-we-are-the-embodiment-of-life-we-are-born-into-this/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“In the course of our Journey we need to realize that we do not need to become anything, because we are already in possession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/in-the-course-of-our-journey-we-need-to-realize-that-we-do-not-need/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“On our Journey, we should not dwell on the guilt emerging because of dropping back to Ego-dominated state; instead, we should celebrate that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/on-our-journey-we-should-not-dwell-on-the-guilt-emerging-because-of/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“You must make the Journey along the road, nobody is able to do it for you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/you-must-make-the-journey-along-the-road-nobody-is-able-to-do-it-for/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“First we have to understand that we are not the mind! We are identical with neither its bright, nor its dark side!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/first-we-have-to-understand-that-we-are-not-the-mind-we-are-identical/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“In the course of our journey leading to Consciousness, our objective should not be creating a positive character, and thus a pleasant scenario, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/in-the-course-of-our-journey-leading-to-consciousness-our-objective/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“„Those who decide to live in the Present, must leave their past behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/those-who-decide-to-live-in-the-present-must-leave-their-past-behind/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“„We are the embodiment of Life, we are born into this world as a result of a Miracle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/we-are-the-embodiment-of-life-we-are-born-into-this-world-as-a-result/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [“The Wanderer in every moment spent awake faces two alternatives: a choice is to be made between the ambitions stretching between past and future,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/the-wanderer-in-every-moment-spent-awake-faces-two-alternatives-a/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) [Explore all 30 Frank M. Wanderer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) ## More Awakening quotes > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquillizers each day to combat depression, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belsebuub/low-states-are-a-like-a-poison-to-the-psyche-millions-of-people/) [Belsebuub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belsebuub/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/my-political-awakening-if-i-can-be-as-grand-as-to-call-it-that-was/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-often-have-you-sailed-in-my-dreams-and-now-you-come-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) [Sindiwe Magona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sindiwe-magona/) > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. 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