--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is difficult to live in the present…" description: "\"It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future, and impossible to live in the past. Nothing is as far away as one minute ago...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/jim-bishop-21544_future_it-is-difficult-to-live-in-the-present-r_1133856.png" --- # It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live… ![“It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future, and impossible to live in the past. Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.” quote by Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/jim-bishop-21544_future_it-is-difficult-to-live-in-the-present-r_1133856.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/jim-bishop-21544_future_it-is-difficult-to-live-in-the-present-r_1133856.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c97/jim-bishop-21544_future_it-is-difficult-to-live-in-the-present-r_1133856.png) > “It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future, and impossible to live in the past. Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.” [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes difficulty of living in past, present, future; emphasizes fleeting nature of time. **In simple terms:** Living in any time is hard. Key Takeaway Focus on the present moment. Themes time mindfulness existence Mood calm contemplative Type philosophical self-help When to use this quote - meditation practice - daily planning - stress reduction Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you anchor yourself now? - What habits help stay present? A Different Perspective People often get stuck in regrets or anxieties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Live In The Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-future/) [Live in the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-present/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“It is difficult to live in the present, pointless to live in the future and impossible to live in the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/it-is-difficult-to-live-in-the-present-pointless-to-live-in-the/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Don't live in the past - you've already been there. And don't live in the future, either. Tomorrow will be here soon enough. Live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/don-t-live-in-the-past-you-ve-already-been-there-and-don-t-live-in/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [Do not live in the PAST. You dont live there anymore. Do not live in the FUTURE. You are not there yet. Live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-randymar/do-not-live-in-the-past-you-dont-live-there-anymore-do-not-live-in/) [Joel Randymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-randymar/) > [It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/it-is-impossible-to-live-in-the-past-difficult-to-live-in-the-present/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [We cannot live in the past; it is gone. Nor can we live in the future; it is forever beyond our grasp. We can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-n-goenka/we-cannot-live-in-the-past-it-is-gone-nor-can-we-live-in-the-future/) [S. N. Goenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-n-goenka/) > [“We can't live in our past, it is no more. We can't live in the future, it is yet to be formed. We can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynette-chambers/we-can-t-live-in-our-past-it-is-no-more-we-can-t-live-in-the-future/) Lynette Chambers > [Live both in the future and the past. Who does not live in the past does not live in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/live-both-in-the-future-and-the-past-who-does-not-live-in-the-past/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [It is no more possible to live in the future than it is to live in the past. 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Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [“You will live in the future as an extension of the lives that you have touched. Therefore, you may wish to consider how you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/you-will-live-in-the-future-as-an-extension-of-the-lives-that-you/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I like to live in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denny-laine/i-like-to-live-in-the-future/) [Denny Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denny-laine/) ## More by Jim Bishop > [It is impossible to read for pleasure from something to which you are both father and mother, born in such travail that the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/it-is-impossible-to-read-for-pleasure-from-something-to-which-you-are/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [What makes a good writer of history is a guy who is suspicious. Suspicion marks the real difference between the man who wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a-guy-who-is-suspicious/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [At 19, everything is possible and tomorrow looks friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/at-19-everything-is-possible-and-tomorrow-looks-friendly/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Golf is played by twenty million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/golf-is-played-by-twenty-million-mature-american-men-whose-wives/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Death is as casual and often as unexpected as birth. It is as difficult to define grief as joy. Each is finite. Each will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/death-is-as-casual-and-often-as-unexpected-as-birth-it-is-as/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Archaeology is the peeping Tom of the sciences. It is the sandbox of men who care not where they are going; they merely want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/archaeology-is-the-peeping-tom-of-the-sciences-it-is-the-sandbox-of/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Gimme: an agreement between two losers who can't putt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/gimme-an-agreement-between-two-losers-who-can-t-putt/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [A reporter meets interesting people. If he endures, he will get to know princes and presidents, popes and paupers, prostitutes and panderers. And always,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/a-reporter-meets-interesting-people-if-he-endures-he-will-get-to-know/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [“A friend asked what he thought of marriage, and Lincoln said quietly: “My father always said, when you make a bad bargain, hug it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/a-friend-asked-what-he-thought-of-marriage-and-lincoln-said-quietly/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/nothing-is-as-far-away-as-one-minute-ago/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Mulligan: invented by an Irishman who wanted to hit one more twenty yard grounder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/mulligan-invented-by-an-irishman-who-wanted-to-hit-one-more-twenty/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [True love is night jasmine, a diamond in darkness, the heartbeat no cardiologist has ever heard. It is the most common of miracles, fashioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/true-love-is-night-jasmine-a-diamond-in-darkness-the-heartbeat-no/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [When you read about a car crash in which two or three youngsters are killed, do you pause to dwell on the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/when-you-read-about-a-car-crash-in-which-two-or-three-youngsters-are/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [I can look at my books with pleasure from a distance. Four feet is close enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/i-can-look-at-my-books-with-pleasure-from-a-distance-four-feet-is/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Raising a child is very much like building a skyscraper. If the first few stories are slightly out of line. no one will notice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/raising-a-child-is-very-much-like-building-a-skyscraper-if-the-first/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) [Explore all 29 Jim Bishop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. 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Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. 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