--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lies 1: There is only the present and…" description: "\"“Lies 1: There is only the present and nothing to remember. Lies 2: Time is a straight line. Lies 3: The difference between the past and the future is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/jeanette-winterson-166_differences_lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-not_804566.jpg" --- # Lies 1: There is only the present and nothing to remember… ![“Lies 1: There is only the present and nothing to remember. Lies 2: Time is a straight line. Lies 3: The difference between the past and the future is that one has happened while the other has not. Lies 4: We can only be in one place at a time. Lies 5: Any proposition that contains the word…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/jeanette-winterson-166_differences_lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-not_804566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/jeanette-winterson-166_differences_lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-not_804566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/jeanette-winterson-166_differences_lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-not_804566.jpg) > ““Lies 1: There is only the present and nothing to remember. Lies 2: Time is a straight line. Lies 3: The difference between the past and the future is that one has happened while the other has not. Lies 4: We can only be in one place at a time. Lies 5: Any proposition that contains the word 'finite' (the world, the universe, experience, ourselves...) Lies 6: Reality as something which can be agreed upon. Lies 7: Reality is truth.”” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote challenges common assumptions about time, place, finiteness, and the nature of reality, suggesting they are all falsehoods. **In simple terms:** Our usual beliefs about time and reality are mistaken. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions about time and reality. Themes philosophy metaphysics perception truth reality time Mood thoughtful inquisitive reflective Type philosophical critical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - academic debate - creative writing - philosophical discussion Key Concepts relativism constructivism ontological skepticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience time in daily life? - What does “reality” mean to you? A Different Perspective These ideas may ignore practical constraints of everyday life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Finite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finite/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Lies Difference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-difference-3224476/) [Lies Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-present-1367950/) [Lies Proposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-proposition-6152077/) [Lies Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-reality-2556000/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past And The Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-the-future/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Well, everyone lies. The difference between a hero and a villain is whether anyone believes him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/well-everyone-lies-the-difference-between-a-hero-and-a-villain-is/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [“With me: one minus one = one; with you: it’s zero. Here lies the only difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/with-me-one-minus-one-one-with-you-it-s-zero-here-lies-the-only/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [With me: one minus one = one; with you: its zero. Here lies the only difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/with-me-one-minus-one-one-with-you-its-zero-here-lies-the-only/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [True art lies in a reality that is felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/true-art-lies-in-a-reality-that-is-felt/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [History is a combination of reality and lies. The reality of History becomes a lie. The unreality of the fable becomes the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/history-is-a-combination-of-reality-and-lies-the-reality-of-history/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [It is the artist who is truthful and it is photography which lies, for in reality time does not stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/it-is-the-artist-who-is-truthful-and-it-is-photography-which-lies-for/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [“Language and Knowledge have certain limitations; they can go only up to a certain point, for beyond that lies reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-kumar/language-and-knowledge-have-certain-limitations-they-can-go-only-up/) [Gian Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-kumar/) > [“The Past lies upon the Present like a giant’s dead body.” Nathaniel Hawthorne The House of Seven Gables”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-perron/the-past-lies-upon-the-present-like-a-giant-s-dead-body-nathaniel/) [Andrea Perron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-perron/) > [Shall we never never get rid of this Past? ... It lies upon the Present like a giant's dead body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/shall-we-never-never-get-rid-of-this-past-it-lies-upon-the-present/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Before speaking without knowledge, saying lies, you have to present evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/before-speaking-without-knowledge-saying-lies-you-have-to-present/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [“Hate's power lies in the past. Truth's power lies in the present. Hope's power lies in the future. Love's power lies in eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/hate-s-power-lies-in-the-past-truth-s-power-lies-in-the-present-hope/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Looking for truth in the moment but u always seem to find lies present!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milliton-munney/looking-for-truth-in-the-moment-but-u-always-seem-to-find-lies-present/) [Milliton MUNNEY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milliton-munney/) > [The past is an interpretation. The future is on illusion. The world does not more through time as if it were a straight line,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shams-tabrizi/the-past-is-an-interpretation-the-future-is-on-illusion-the-world/) [Shams Tabrizi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shams-tabrizi/) > [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/) > [Now that physics is proving the intelligence of the universe what are we to do about the stupidity of mankind? I include myself. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/now-that-physics-is-proving-the-intelligence-of-the-universe-what-are/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Differences quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [There are those who open their hearts to others...who never think twice about giving of themselves. They are the wonderful warmhearted people who make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/there-are-those-who-open-their-hearts-to-others-who-never-think-twice/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [When the President starts talking about something, it makes a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/when-the-president-starts-talking-about-something-it-makes-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [In a world shaped and colored more and more by politicians, the nations meet politically, and hardly any other way to settle their differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-priestley/in-a-world-shaped-and-colored-more-and-more-by-politicians-the/) [J. B. Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-priestley/) [Browse all 8,110 Differences quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lies 1: There is only the present and nothing to remember. Lies 2: Time is a straight line. Lies 3: The difference between the past and the future is that one has happened while the other has not. Lies 4: We can only be in one place at a time. Lies 5: Any proposition that contains the word 'finite' (the world, the universe, experience, ourselves...) Lies 6: Reality as something which can be agreed upon. Lies 7: Reality is truth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanette Winterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-nothing-to-remember-lies-2-time/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Differences" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-nothing-to-remember-lies-2-time/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/jeanette-winterson-166_differences_lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-not_804566.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/jeanette-winterson-166_differences_lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-not_804566.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/957/jeanette-winterson-166_differences_lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-not_804566.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Lies 1: There is only the present and nothing to remember. Lies 2: Time is a straight line. Lies 3: The…” — Jeanette Winterson", "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": "Jeanette Winterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Lies 1: There is only the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-nothing-to-remember-lies-2-time/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/lies-1-there-is-only-the-present-and-nothing-to-remember-lies-2-time/#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 } } ] } ```