--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...yesterday and today and tomorrow are…" description: "\"...yesterday and today and tomorrow are not an arrow that shoots from past to present to future; rather all tenses, and sleeping and waking, mix and co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/huston-smith-2415_aboriginal_yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not_2064014.jpg" --- # ...yesterday and today and tomorrow are not an arrow that… ![“...yesterday and today and tomorrow are not an arrow that shoots from past to present to future; rather all tenses, and sleeping and waking, mix and cohabit in an atemporal duration beyond clocks and calendars. The Aboriginal world began long ago when the Ancestors sang in Dreamtime the cosmic…” quote by Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/huston-smith-2415_aboriginal_yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not_2064014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/huston-smith-2415_aboriginal_yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not_2064014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/huston-smith-2415_aboriginal_yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not_2064014.jpg) > “...yesterday and today and tomorrow are not an arrow that shoots from past to present to future; rather all tenses, and sleeping and waking, mix and cohabit in an atemporal duration beyond clocks and calendars. The Aboriginal world began long ago when the Ancestors sang in Dreamtime the cosmic rhythms that give shape to the things we see, and it is the beginning right now, when a living Tiwi sings the Dream songs that continue, or are, the world.” [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time is not linear; past, present, and future coexist in a timeless flow, reflected in Indigenous Dreamtime narratives. **In simple terms:** All moments exist together, not in a line. Key Takeaway Embrace the present as part of an eternal whole. Themes time indigenous spirituality philosophy existence Mood contemplative reverent Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal reflection - meditation - cultural study - spiritual practice - creative writing Key Concepts Dreamtime atemporality cosmic rhythm Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing time as atemporal change your daily choices? - What does Dreamtime teach about continuity? A Different Perspective Linear time view may oversimplify complex temporal experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aboriginal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aboriginal/) [Ancestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-present/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) [Yesterday and today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday-and-today/) ## Related quotes > [“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Heb. 13:8)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scotty-smith/jesus-christ-is-the-same-yesterday-and-today-and-forever-heb-13-8/) [Scotty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scotty-smith/) > [We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/we-see-ourselves-in-terms-of-yesterday-and-today-our-heavenly-father-2/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Even within one person, yesterday and today, there are differences. We must look at a deeper level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/even-within-one-person-yesterday-and-today-there-are-differences-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [My greatest debt will always be to the movie-going public of yesterday and today, without whose love and devotion I would have had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-swanson/my-greatest-debt-will-always-be-to-the-movie-going-public-of/) [Gloria Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-swanson/) > [You are a looser, if your yesterday and today are the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammed-bilal/you-are-a-looser-if-your-yesterday-and-today-are-the-same/) Muhammed Bilal > [Programming (or making music) at night is dreamtime, a period exclusively mental, utterly absorbed, sustained and timeless, placeless, disembodied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/programming-or-making-music-at-night-is-dreamtime-a-period/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [There's no question about it. Beaumarie St. Claire and I, we created Irish DreamTime after GoldenEye hit. We made movies like Thomas Crown and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/there-s-no-question-about-it-beaumarie-st-claire-and-i-we-created/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [“Originality has nothing to do with producing something ’ new’ - it is about seeking the source, the primordial ground from which you draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-marshall-stoneking/originality-has-nothing-to-do-with-producing-something-new-it-is/) [Billy Marshall Stoneking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-marshall-stoneking/) > [There is something dreamlike about the points that provide a view of the other side, but they belong not so much to the dreamtime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-sar-aira/there-is-something-dreamlike-about-the-points-that-provide-a-view-of/) [Cesar Aira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-sar-aira/) > [“But the Australians, what do the Australians do? How do they structure their landscape? For a start they postulate a primal builder, whose work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-sar-aira/but-the-australians-what-do-the-australians-do-how-do-they-structure/) [César Aira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-sar-aira/) > [The celebrated Aboriginal painter Albert Namatjira loved the Ghost Gums of the Northern Territory... They are evocatively Australian, their white trunks contrasting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/the-celebrated-aboriginal-painter-albert-namatjira-loved-the-ghost/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [O foolish writer. Now moves. Even in storytime, dreamtime, once-upon-a-time, now isn't then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/o-foolish-writer-now-moves-even-in-storytime-dreamtime-once-upon-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [It takes time--loose, unstructured dreamtime-- to experience nature in a meaningful way. Unless parents are vigilant, such time becomes a scarce resource, not because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/it-takes-time-loose-unstructured-dreamtime-to-experience-nature-in-a/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [As I have always found, and often am forced to remember, to all things there is a beginning and an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-miller/as-i-have-always-found-and-often-am-forced-to-remember-to-all-things/) [Ryan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-miller/) > [There is no reason to suppose that the world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-reason-to-suppose-that-the-world-had-a-beginning-at-all/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Huston Smith > [“The Transcendent was my morning meal, we had the Eternal at lunch, and I ate a slice of the Infinite at dinner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/the-transcendent-was-my-morning-meal-we-had-the-eternal-at-lunch-and/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [The first koan do not have rational answers. They are techniques devised over the millennia for triggering an actual experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/the-first-koan-do-not-have-rational-answers-they-are-techniques/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [We all carry it within us: supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted, and cannot be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/we-all-carry-it-within-us-supreme-strength-the-fullness-of-wisdom/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [A nation can assume that the addition of the words "under God" to its pledge of allegiance gives evidence that its citizens actually believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/a-nation-can-assume-that-the-addition-of-the-words-under-god-to-its/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [“Some friends accused me of whoring after the Infinite. Well, what better whoredom is there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/some-friends-accused-me-of-whoring-after-the-infinite-well-what/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Imagine a man besottedly in love: he won't waste time speculating whether other women equally merit his affection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/imagine-a-man-besottedly-in-love-he-won-t-waste-time-speculating/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [“If my opinion that substance requires a true unity were founded only on a definition I had formulated in opposition to common usage, \*then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/if-my-opinion-that-substance-requires-a-true-unity-were-founded-only/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [The New Age movement looks like a mixed bag. I see much in it that seems good: It's optimistic; it's enthusiastic; it has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/the-new-age-movement-looks-like-a-mixed-bag-i-see-much-in-it-that/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Science can prove nothing about God, because God lies outside its province.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/science-can-prove-nothing-about-god-because-god-lies-outside-its/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [I had assumed that Bush's seemingly inflexible policy to support Sharon was for political reasons of his getting elected. But as to whether he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/i-had-assumed-that-bush-s-seemingly-inflexible-policy-to-support/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [The Buddha is in me, the Buddha is in you. Live up to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/the-buddha-is-in-me-the-buddha-is-in-you-live-up-to-it/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [“How many planes there are, we do not know. The levels of nature that science discriminates give us no clue, for these all pertain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/how-many-planes-there-are-we-do-not-know-the-levels-of-nature-that/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [So always, if we look back, concern for face-to-face morality, and its modern emphasis on justice as well, have historically evolved as religious issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/so-always-if-we-look-back-concern-for-face-to-face-morality-and-its/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [All -isms end up in schisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/all-isms-end-up-in-schisms/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Most of the book deals with things we already know yet never learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/most-of-the-book-deals-with-things-we-already-know-yet-never-learn/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) [Explore all 167 Huston Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) ## More Aboriginal quotes > [I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in me being called a racist. That issue related to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/i-won-the-seat-of-oxley-largely-on-an-issue-that-has-resulted-in-me/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [I'd much rather people knew me as a good tennis player than as an aboriginal who happens to play good tennis. Of course I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-d-much-rather-people-knew-me-as-a-good-tennis-player-than-as-an/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [One of my earliest memories is being backstage at 'Bran Nue Dae' in Darwin when I was about eight. It's such a fun, happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-sebbens/one-of-my-earliest-memories-is-being-backstage-at-bran-nue-dae-in/) [Shari Sebbens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-sebbens/) > [Aboriginal people are key because they have a different sense of where we belong and how we interact with nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/aboriginal-people-are-key-because-they-have-a-different-sense-of/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [We've had real strong aboriginal male artists who've crossed over to the mainstream who have toured the U.K., who have been a massive influence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mauboy/we-ve-had-real-strong-aboriginal-male-artists-who-ve-crossed-over-to/) [Jessica Mauboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mauboy/) > [Genius . . . arises in the natural, aboriginal concern for the conscious unity of all phenomena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hunter-austin/genius-arises-in-the-natural-aboriginal-concern-for-the-conscious/) [Mary Hunter Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hunter-austin/) > [In 1995, the Paul Keating Labor government commissioned an inquiry into the forcible removal of Aboriginal children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-1995-the-paul-keating-labor-government-commissioned-an-inquiry/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [The families of Aboriginals who have died in custody in NSW will suffer again because of these white lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-murray/the-families-of-aboriginals-who-have-died-in-custody-in-nsw-will/) Arthur Murray > [Over 120 Aboriginal communities run their own health services - some have been doing so for 30 years. They struggle with difficult medical problems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-fraser/over-120-aboriginal-communities-run-their-own-health-services-some/) [Malcolm Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-fraser/) > [“If they follow the way of Money Chiefs, they shall die. Earth is sick and can no longer care for her children. Now, Earth’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fr-d-ric-perrin/if-they-follow-the-way-of-money-chiefs-they-shall-die-earth-is-sick/) Frédéric Perrin > [I have written with some amazing singers and songwriters - the moment with Snoop Dogg was amazing - but being able to tell an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mauboy/i-have-written-with-some-amazing-singers-and-songwriters-the-moment/) [Jessica Mauboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mauboy/) > [In the European tradition, rivers are seen as divisions between peoples. But in the Aboriginal tradition, rivers are seen as the glue, the highway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/in-the-european-tradition-rivers-are-seen-as-divisions-between/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [People look at me, and they don't see what they think is a typical Aboriginal. I always thought I'd be the white person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-sebbens/people-look-at-me-and-they-don-t-see-what-they-think-is-a-typical/) [Shari Sebbens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-sebbens/) > [The most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages, though it is apt to be also the most terrible and inhuman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-most-ultimately-righteous-of-all-wars-is-a-war-with-savages/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) [Browse all 184 Aboriginal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aboriginal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...yesterday and today and tomorrow are not an arrow that shoots from past to present to future; rather all tenses, and sleeping and waking, mix and cohabit in an atemporal duration beyond clocks and calendars. The Aboriginal world began long ago when the Ancestors sang in Dreamtime the cosmic rhythms that give shape to the things we see, and it is the beginning right now, when a living Tiwi sings the Dream songs that continue, or are, the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Huston Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not-an-arrow-that-shoots-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aboriginal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not-an-arrow-that-shoots-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/huston-smith-2415_aboriginal_yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not_2064014.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/huston-smith-2415_aboriginal_yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not_2064014.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/huston-smith-2415_aboriginal_yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not_2064014.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...yesterday and today and tomorrow are not an arrow that shoots from past to present to future; rather all…” — Huston Smith", "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": "Huston Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...yesterday and today and tomorrow are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not-an-arrow-that-shoots-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/yesterday-and-today-and-tomorrow-are-not-an-arrow-that-shoots-from/#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 } } ] } ```