--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It requires enormous presence of mind or…" description: "\"It requires enormous presence of mind or rather quickness of wit, when opening your eyes to seize hold as it were of everything in the room at exactly ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/franz-kafka-214_deflecting_it-requires-enormous-presence-of-mind-or_2731674.jpg" --- # It requires enormous presence of mind or rather quickness… ![“It requires enormous presence of mind or rather quickness of wit, when opening your eyes to seize hold as it were of everything in the room at exactly the same place where you had let it go on the previous evening. That is why the moment of waking up was the riskiest moment of the day. Once that…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/franz-kafka-214_deflecting_it-requires-enormous-presence-of-mind-or_2731674.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/franz-kafka-214_deflecting_it-requires-enormous-presence-of-mind-or_2731674.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/franz-kafka-214_deflecting_it-requires-enormous-presence-of-mind-or_2731674.jpg) > “It requires enormous presence of mind or rather quickness of wit, when opening your eyes to seize hold as it were of everything in the room at exactly the same place where you had let it go on the previous evening. That is why the moment of waking up was the riskiest moment of the day. Once that was well over without deflecting you from your orbit, you could take heart of grace for the rest of the day.” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes the intense mental focus needed upon waking, treating it as a risky moment that, once navigated, grants grace for the day. **In simple terms:** Morning awareness requires sharp focus; succeeding brings calm. Key Takeaway Cultivate mindful awareness upon waking. Themes mindfulness presence morning routine Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily meditation - stress management - productivity rituals Key Concepts consciousness psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you anchor your attention when you first wake? - What practices help you maintain calm throughout the day? A Different Perspective Morning focus can be disrupted by anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deflecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deflecting/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Opening your eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening-your-eyes/) [Orbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orbit/) [Presence of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes change makes you sit up and pay attention, opening your eyes to so many new things, it’s as if you’d been asleep for”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-l-johnson/sometimes-change-makes-you-sit-up-and-pay-attention-opening-your-eyes/) [Amber L. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-l-johnson/) > [“but inside she could feel herself starting to scream, or rather, she could feel, and see, the diving line between not-screaming and screaming. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/but-inside-she-could-feel-herself-starting-to-scream-or-rather-she/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Praying is not about asking; it's about listening... It is just opening your eyes to see what was there all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chagdud-tulku-rinpoche/praying-is-not-about-asking-it-s-about-listening-it-is-just-opening/) [Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chagdud-tulku-rinpoche/) > [To have a functioning body and not to use it is like having 20/20 vision and never opening your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-phillips/to-have-a-functioning-body-and-not-to-use-it-is-like-having-20-20/) [Bill Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-phillips/) > [The difference between closing or opening your eyes is the choice between the imagined vs real. Blinking is only human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/the-difference-between-closing-or-opening-your-eyes-is-the-choice/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) > [“Opening your eyes is all that is needing. The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/opening-your-eyes-is-all-that-is-needing-the-heart-lies-and-the-head-2/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“We feel the pull of the mindless herd, the allure of the pack, but we resist the extreme effects of this influence-and when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-feel-the-pull-of-the-mindless-herd-the-allure-of-the-pack-but-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have to find some way to not become a cynical or negative person, a person who keeps walking around and opening your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-have-to-find-some-way-to-not-become-a-cynical-or-negative-person/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“The truth is that all humans are always seeing something, paying attention to something, learning something. Perhaps, we are learning every sort of sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-rollins/the-truth-is-that-all-humans-are-always-seeing-something-paying/) [Cindy Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-rollins/) > [“Letting go is not forgetting. It's opening your eyes to the good that grew from the bad, the life that blooms from decay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-henry/letting-go-is-not-forgetting-it-s-opening-your-eyes-to-the-good-that/) [Emily Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-henry/) > [“the price you pay for opening your eyes is the easy life you can no longer have. but it becomes worth it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darnell-lamont-walker/the-price-you-pay-for-opening-your-eyes-is-the-easy-life-you-can-no/) [Darnell Lamont Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darnell-lamont-walker/) > [“Falling in love is as simple as opening your eyes, when you see the one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-brien/falling-in-love-is-as-simple-as-opening-your-eyes-when-you-see-the-one/) [Mark O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-brien/) > [“To see love is to see the dawn in a moonless sky without opening your eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suenammi-richards/to-see-love-is-to-see-the-dawn-in-a-moonless-sky-without-opening-your/) [Suenammi Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suenammi-richards/) > [“Opening your eyes is all that is needing. The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true. Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/opening-your-eyes-is-all-that-is-needing-the-heart-lies-and-the-head/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [A good dream was something you clung to until the last moment before waking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-rossi/a-good-dream-was-something-you-clung-to-until-the-last-moment-before/) [Veronica Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-rossi/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Deflecting quotes > [To the extent we are perceiving anyone's guilt -choosing to focus on the errors of their personality rather than the eternal innocence of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/to-the-extent-we-are-perceiving-anyone-s-guilt-choosing-to-focus-on/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“While we are expecting everybody to tell downright the truth, many are muddying the water, drowning questions in a river of words and trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/while-we-are-expecting-everybody-to-tell-downright-the-truth-many-are/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [How Bush and his junta succeeded in deflecting America's anger from bin Laden to Saddam Hussein is one of the great public relations conjuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/how-bush-and-his-junta-succeeded-in-deflecting-america-s-anger-from/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [ \[On charity\] I try to pick subjects that I can learn about and then focus on and then do as much as I can.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/on-charity-i-try-to-pick-subjects-that-i-can-learn-about-and-then/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [The system has a way of convincing people that because they live in the USA they are better off than all other people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/the-system-has-a-way-of-convincing-people-that-because-they-live-in/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Frankly speaking, we all know that provoking military and political instability, regional, and other conflicts is a helpful means of distracting the public from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/frankly-speaking-we-all-know-that-provoking-military-and-political/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Whatever outrageous dream keeps flowing across your mind, allow it to live inside you. Don't deflect it, diminish it, invalidate it or come up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/whatever-outrageous-dream-keeps-flowing-across-your-mind-allow-it-to/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“I've been deflecting Calypso's blushes all day. I don't have the energy to deflect yours," he said through clenched teeth. "So either block or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-mccallan/i-ve-been-deflecting-calypso-s-blushes-all-day-i-don-t-have-the/) T.L. McCallan > [He was as needy as she was. Alvin Finch only wanted to be needed. Loved. And absent of either, he resorted to deflecting his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/he-was-as-needy-as-she-was-alvin-finch-only-wanted-to-be-needed-loved/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Hey, aren’t we forgetting something? (Savitar) Your dignity? (Takeshi) No, you have me confused with you again. Aren’t you supposed to be training him?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/hey-aren-t-we-forgetting-something-savitar-your-dignity-takeshi-no/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [If you allow one little sin to creep into your life, and think it doesn't matter, it will grow and grow until it affects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-buchan/if-you-allow-one-little-sin-to-creep-into-your-life-and-think-it/) [Angus Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-buchan/) [Browse all 12 Deflecting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deflecting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It requires enormous presence of mind or rather quickness of wit, when opening your eyes to seize hold as it were of everything in the room at exactly the same place where you had let it go on the previous evening. That is why the moment of waking up was the riskiest moment of the day. 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