--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There will be a day on which we will…" description: "\"There will be a day on which we will realize that past and future are nothing else than what we call present.\" — Jean-Paul Malfatti" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/jean-paul-malfatti-3314_chronology_there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-rea_2669099.jpg" --- # There will be a day on which we will realize that past and… ![“There will be a day on which we will realize that past and future are nothing else than what we call present.” quote by Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/jean-paul-malfatti-3314_chronology_there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-rea_2669099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/jean-paul-malfatti-3314_chronology_there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-rea_2669099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/jean-paul-malfatti-3314_chronology_there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-rea_2669099.jpg) > “There will be a day on which we will realize that past and future are nothing else than what we call present.” [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement asserts that past and future are mental constructs, and true reality exists only in the present moment. **In simple terms:** Only the present is real; past/future are labels. Key Takeaway Live fully in the now. Themes time perception reality mindfulness philosophy existence Mood calm thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical mindful When to use this quote - meditation practice - decision making - creative work - stress reduction Key Concepts ontological relativism temporal consciousness psychology of memory Questions to Reflect On - How can past insights inform present action? - What balance between present focus and future planning feels healthy? 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As for the present, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-can-the-past-and-future-be-when-the-past-no-longer-is-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the present moment contains both past and future. The only material that the future is made of is the present. If you know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/the-present-moment-contains-both-past-and-future-the-only-material/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [The future is foretold from the past and the future is only possible because of the past. Without past and future, the present is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-future-is-foretold-from-the-past-and-the-future-is-only-possible/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-begin-to-realize-that-your-past-does-not-necessarily-dictate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That's what sons do: write to their mothers about recall, tell themselves about the past until they come to realize that they are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/that-s-what-sons-do-write-to-their-mothers-about-recall-tell/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Once you realize your past is just a story, it has no power over you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-realize-your-past-is-just-a-story-it-has-no-power-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Families have always been in flux and often in crisis; they have never lived up to nostalgic notions about "the way things used tobe."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/families-have-always-been-in-flux-and-often-in-crisis-they-have-never/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [“By handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past. If you just stow these things away in a drawer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/by-handling-each-sentimental-item-and-deciding-what-to-discard-you/) [Marie Kondō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [“Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/realize-the-past-no-longer-holds-you-captive-it-can-only-continue-to/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) ## More by Jean-Paul Malfatti > [How old is your age?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/how-old-is-your-age/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [What would be of Saturdays if there weren't Sundays?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/what-would-be-of-saturdays-if-there-weren-t-sundays/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [Snow rocks but snow shoveling sucks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/snow-rocks-but-snow-shoveling-sucks/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [Playing dumb is not for me. If I say that I don't understand it, it means that I don't understand it. Period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/playing-dumb-is-not-for-me-if-i-say-that-i-don-t-understand-it-it/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [I'm not used to paying tithes and I have never been under God's curse on account of that. 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As a matter of fact, we feel as though we were a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/this-year-neither-my-boyfriend-nor-i-am-excited-about-thanksgiving-as/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [To love is to find out that life deserves to be lived and shared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/to-love-is-to-find-out-that-life-deserves-to-be-lived-and-shared/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [Neither do I love nor hate the hate itself because hating is the only thing haters love, and definitely I'm not one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/neither-do-i-love-nor-hate-the-hate-itself-because-hating-is-the-only/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [I wish I were a big-mouthed cockroach, so that I could lick all the sugar off your sweet kisses before gently and softly biting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/i-wish-i-were-a-big-mouthed-cockroach-so-that-i-could-lick-all-the/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) [Explore all 134 Jean-Paul Malfatti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) ## More Chronology quotes > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [ My chronology is terrible. \[Work with William Shawn\] must have some ago. It was after he was fired by Newhouse. After New - when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-chronology-is-terrible-work-with-william-shawn-must-have-some-ago/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [“All that we call sacred history attests that the birth of a poet is the principal event in chronology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-that-we-call-sacred-history-attests-that-the-birth-of-a-poet-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Sometimes indirect style and varying chronology is great, but quite often I've seen it be just something that gets in the way. It turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/sometimes-indirect-style-and-varying-chronology-is-great-but-quite/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [“On the whole I try to keep Modesty and Willie in timeless settings, which is why I avoid all the latest slang and in-words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-donnell/on-the-whole-i-try-to-keep-modesty-and-willie-in-timeless-settings/) [Peter O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-donnell/) > [Of course the chronology of the books is a bit back- to - front, and books usually come out before movies. But happily, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fielding/of-course-the-chronology-of-the-books-is-a-bit-back-to-front-and/) [Helen Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fielding/) > [“Have you noticed how just trying to impose any sort of chronology on events makes it seem as though a lot of time has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hamilton-paterson/have-you-noticed-how-just-trying-to-impose-any-sort-of-chronology-on/) [James Hamilton-Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hamilton-paterson/) > [Particularly, the actors, to have analyzed the script in great detail from the point of view of their specific character. So that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/particularly-the-actors-to-have-analyzed-the-script-in-great-detail/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [I have insane curiosity as to what happened in all these events. I will never know. I'm not a researcher. I don't possess that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-have-insane-curiosity-as-to-what-happened-in-all-these-events-i/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [History, if viewed as a repository for more than anecdote or chronology, could produce a decisive transformation in the image of science by which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/history-if-viewed-as-a-repository-for-more-than-anecdote-or/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [I am strongly of the opinion that chronology is very important. The great arc of time is what children are wired for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/i-am-strongly-of-the-opinion-that-chronology-is-very-important-the/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [The idiot, the Indian, the child and unschooled farmer's boy stand nearer to the light by which nature is to be read, than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-idiot-the-indian-the-child-and-unschooled-farmer-s-boy-stand/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [History is philosophy teaching by example and also by warning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/history-is-philosophy-teaching-by-example-and-also-by-warning/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [The first sparrow of spring! The year beginning with younger hope than ever!... What at such a time are histories, chronologies, traditions, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-first-sparrow-of-spring-the-year-beginning-with-younger-hope-than/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Chronology is not destiny”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-michael-platt/chronology-is-not-destiny/) [Donald Michael Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-michael-platt/) [Browse all 56 Chronology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chronology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There will be a day on which we will realize that past and future are nothing else than what we call present.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Paul Malfatti" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-realize-that-past-and-future-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chronology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-realize-that-past-and-future-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/jean-paul-malfatti-3314_chronology_there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-rea_2669099.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/jean-paul-malfatti-3314_chronology_there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-rea_2669099.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98c/jean-paul-malfatti-3314_chronology_there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-rea_2669099.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There will be a day on which we will realize that past and future are nothing else than what we call present.” — Jean-Paul Malfatti", "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": "Jean-Paul Malfatti", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There will be a day on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-realize-that-past-and-future-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/there-will-be-a-day-on-which-we-will-realize-that-past-and-future-are/#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 } } ] } ```