--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Active waiting means present fully to the…" description: "\"Active waiting means present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/henri-nouwen-600_active_active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-th_435096.png" --- # Active waiting means present fully to the moment, in the… ![“Active waiting means present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.” quote by Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/henri-nouwen-600_active_active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-th_435096.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/henri-nouwen-600_active_active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-th_435096.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/henri-nouwen-600_active_active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-th_435096.png) > “Active waiting means present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.” [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being fully present means trusting that the present moment holds what you need and engaging with it openly. **In simple terms:** Live in the now with trust. Key Takeaway Embrace the now fully. Themes mindfulness presence trust Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - daily work - relationships - creative projects Key Concepts spirituality psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does present‑moment awareness change your decisions? - What does “being present” feel like for you? A Different Perspective May overlook future responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Consciousness means being present to everything in life as it unfolds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consciousness-means-being-present-to-everything-in-life-as-it-unfolds/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Diwali means to be in the present, so drop the regrets of the past and the worries of the future and live in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/diwali-means-to-be-in-the-present-so-drop-the-regrets-of-the-past-and/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [“One can say that he consumed one whole week waiting for the return of that single hour every seven days—and waiting means racing ahead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/one-can-say-that-he-consumed-one-whole-week-waiting-for-the-return-of/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [Waiting means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/waiting-means-going-about-our-assigned-tasks-confident-that-god-will/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [I HATE WAITING. But if waiting means being able to be with you, I'll wait for as long as forever to be with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa/i-hate-waiting-but-if-waiting-means-being-able-to-be-with-you-i-ll/) [ALYSSA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa/) > [I hate waiting but if waiting means being able to be with you, Ill wait for as long as forever to be with you!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-waiting-but-if-waiting-means-being-able-to-be-with-you-ill/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we cant face our losses, we cant be present either fully to everything that is. When people have cut off or not made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/if-we-cant-face-our-losses-we-cant-be-present-either-fully-to/) [Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/) > [Only when all conceptions of space and time, life and death, are exploded, when the grip of the past and fear of the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-villoldo/only-when-all-conceptions-of-space-and-time-life-and-death-are/) [Alberto Villoldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-villoldo/) > [If you want to live and enjoy the present fully, you must burn everything of the past! If you don't, everything of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prem-tihan/if-you-want-to-live-and-enjoy-the-present-fully-you-must-burn/) Prem Tihan > [“Mindfulness is the energy that makes us fully present, fully alive in the here and the now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/mindfulness-is-the-energy-that-makes-us-fully-present-fully-alive-in/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“...to be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully present is to be capable of being in uncertainty and mystery. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-be-lost-is-to-be-fully-present-and-to-be-fully-present-is-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [My job is to try and present the most fully-rounded character that I can, and bring a performance that people believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-monaghan/my-job-is-to-try-and-present-the-most-fully-rounded-character-that-i/) [Dominic Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-monaghan/) > [“Rather than worrying about work, schedules, and deadlines, I felt at peace with God. He was in control. The world at large would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/rather-than-worrying-about-work-schedules-and-deadlines-i-felt-at/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [“One must be present, fully and deeply, in the garden of the now. In this state of presence, the ego’s chatter can be heard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-l-michel/one-must-be-present-fully-and-deeply-in-the-garden-of-the-now-in-this/) [Kevin L. Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-l-michel/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More by Henri Nouwen > [We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/we-are-not-the-healers-we-are-not-the-reconcilers-we-are-not-the/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [The more we touch the intimate love of God which creates, sustains, and guides us, the more we recognize the multitude of fruits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/the-more-we-touch-the-intimate-love-of-god-which-creates-sustains-and/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [Feelings of guilt dominate our work as peacemakers we cannot last long. But when we have opened each other's eyes to the great human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/feelings-of-guilt-dominate-our-work-as-peacemakers-we-cannot-last/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [...we all want to hear stories, from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Stories connect our little lives with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/we-all-want-to-hear-stories-from-the-moment-we-are-born-to-the-moment/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [I have found it very important...to let go of my wishes and start hoping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/i-have-found-it-very-important-to-let-go-of-my-wishes-and-start-hoping/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [Simply being with someone is difficult because it asks of us that we share in the other's vulnerability, enter with him or her into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/simply-being-with-someone-is-difficult-because-it-asks-of-us-that-we/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [Somewhere we know that without silence, words lose their meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/somewhere-we-know-that-without-silence-words-lose-their-meaning/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [Jesus says, "Keep your heart on the kingdom first. Keep your heart on God's love. Keep focused on the fact that you are God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/jesus-says-keep-your-heart-on-the-kingdom-first-keep-your-heart-on/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [This sounds very simple and maybe even trite, but very few people know that they are loved without condition or limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/this-sounds-very-simple-and-maybe-even-trite-but-very-few-people-know/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“The more preoccupied we are with security the more visible the force of death becomes, whether in the form of a pistol beside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/the-more-preoccupied-we-are-with-security-the-more-visible-the-force/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [If you feel a great loneliness and a deep longing for human contact, you have to be extremely discerning...and ask yourself whether this situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/if-you-feel-a-great-loneliness-and-a-deep-longing-for-human-contact/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [I choose L'Arche; L'Arche chooses me. I would be dead if I weren't here. I need people to love me and care for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/i-choose-l-arche-l-arche-chooses-me-i-would-be-dead-if-i-weren-t-here/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/the-truth-even-though-i-cannot-feel-it-right-now-is-that-i-am-the/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/in-a-world-so-torn-apart-by-rivalry-anger-and-hatred-we-have-the/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [Where true inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/where-true-inner-freedom-is-there-is-god-and-where-god-is-there-we/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) [Explore all 452 Henri Nouwen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Active waiting means present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henri Nouwen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-the-moment-in-the-conviction/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Active" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-the-moment-in-the-conviction/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/henri-nouwen-600_active_active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-th_435096.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/henri-nouwen-600_active_active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-th_435096.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/henri-nouwen-600_active_active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-th_435096.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Active waiting means present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you…” — Henri Nouwen", "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": "Henri Nouwen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Active waiting means present fully to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-the-moment-in-the-conviction/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/active-waiting-means-present-fully-to-the-moment-in-the-conviction/#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 } } ] } ```