--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we could be mindful of how short our…" description: "\"“If we could be mindful of how short our time is, we might learn how precious each day is.”\" — John O'Donohue" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/john-o-donohue-1919_days_if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our_103026.jpg" --- # If we could be mindful of how short our time is, we might… ![“If we could be mindful of how short our time is, we might learn how precious each day is.” quote by John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/john-o-donohue-1919_days_if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our_103026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/john-o-donohue-1919_days_if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our_103026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/john-o-donohue-1919_days_if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our_103026.jpg) > ““If we could be mindful of how short our time is, we might learn how precious each day is.”” [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awareness of life's brevity heightens appreciation for each day's value. **In simple terms:** Short time → cherish each day. Key Takeaway Mindfulness reveals preciousness. Themes time mindfulness value Mood calm hopeful Type inspiration reflection When to use this quote - daily journaling - mindful walking - reflecting on aging Key Concepts impermanence gratitude Practical Applications - practice gratitude - set daily intentions Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing mortality change priorities? - What habits sustain daily appreciation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mindful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindful/) [Mindfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindfulness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Value of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-of-time/) ## Related quotes > [Learning how to learn is the most precious thing we have in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naisbitt/learning-how-to-learn-is-the-most-precious-thing-we-have-in-life/) [John Naisbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naisbitt/) > [“That tried and true aphorism: Each day is precious. Each day is a gift. If we don't open the wrapping carefully, we might break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-garcia/that-tried-and-true-aphorism-each-day-is-precious-each-day-is-a-gift/) Eric Garcia > [Today is a precious day. Take joy in knowing that you were gifted with today. The Lord carries us with His grace and mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/today-is-a-precious-day-take-joy-in-knowing-that-you-were-gifted-with/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [My kids are more precious to me than anything. I'm with them all day, and I write all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/my-kids-are-more-precious-to-me-than-anything-i-m-with-them-all-day/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [“Life is precious—every day, every step of it—and sometimes it changes. Tomorrows were treated like a right, when really, you never knew how many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-naigle/life-is-precious-every-day-every-step-of-it-and-sometimes-it-changes/) [Nancy Naigle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-naigle/) > [“The one thing that Jane’s death should teach us is that life is precious and every day is a gift that we should treasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/the-one-thing-that-jane-s-death-should-teach-us-is-that-life-is/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [The time we spend in having our daily audience with God is the most precious part of the whole day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-time-we-spend-in-having-our-daily-audience-with-god-is-the-most/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“Thank you for this precious day, These gifts you give to me, My heart so full of love for you, Sings praise for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/thank-you-for-this-precious-day-these-gifts-you-give-to-me-my-heart/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [“Every day is a gift Every day is precious Every day counts Every day is filled with magic moments At the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-butterworth/every-day-is-a-gift-every-day-is-precious-every-day-counts-every-day/) Hazel Butterworth > [Thanking the Lord for another precious day to live and enjoy my family and friends...dont take life for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thanking-the-lord-for-another-precious-day-to-live-and-enjoy-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thank you God for waking me up today and giving me another precious day of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thank-you-god-for-waking-me-up-today-and-giving-me-another-precious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. 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Friendship is always an act of recognition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/real-friendship-or-love-is-not-manufactured-or-achieved-by-an-act-of/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/it-is-lovely-to-meet-an-old-person-whose-face-is-deeply-lined-a-face/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“For Someone Awakening To The Trauma of His or Her Past: For everything under the sun there is a time. This is the season…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/for-someone-awakening-to-the-trauma-of-his-or-her-past-for-everything/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [It is a strange and wonderful fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/it-is-a-strange-and-wonderful-fact-to-be-here-walking-around-in-a/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [If you try to avoid or remove the awkward quality, it will pursue you. The only effective way to still its unease is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-you-try-to-avoid-or-remove-the-awkward-quality-it-will-pursue-you/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [A friend is a loved one who awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/a-friend-is-a-loved-one-who-awakens-your-life-in-order-to-free-the/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“There is a poetic import to the phrase ‘without a shadow of a doubt’: in all probability, there is no doubt without a shadow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/there-is-a-poetic-import-to-the-phrase-without-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-in/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [If you allow yourself to be the person you are then everything will come into rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-you-allow-yourself-to-be-the-person-you-are-then-everything-will/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Much of the stress and emptiness that haunt us can be traced back to our lack of attention to beauty. Internally, the mind becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/much-of-the-stress-and-emptiness-that-haunt-us-can-be-traced-back-to/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Consumerism is the worship of the god of quantity; advertising is its liturgy. Advertising is schooling in false longing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/consumerism-is-the-worship-of-the-god-of-quantity-advertising-is-its/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Inspiration is always a surprising visitor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/inspiration-is-always-a-surprising-visitor/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Thought is an amazing thing: it can be a mirror, a lens, a bridge, a wall, a window, a ladder or a house. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/thought-is-an-amazing-thing-it-can-be-a-mirror-a-lens-a-bridge-a-wall/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [ We \[humans\] are the only creatures who are in-between. We're of the earth, but don't belong to it, because we strain after the heavens;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/we-humans-are-the-only-creatures-who-are-in-between-we-re-of-the/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [To have true integrity, poise, and courage is to be attuned to the silent and invisible nature within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/to-have-true-integrity-poise-and-courage-is-to-be-attuned-to-the/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) [Explore all 198 John O'Donohue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) ## More Days quotes > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/) [Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [When I wake up on a Monday morning, it's nice knowing for the next 10-12 days that I don't have to do much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-i-wake-up-on-a-monday-morning-it-s-nice-knowing-for-the-next-10/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Everybody has bad days, but how you respond to it is a testament to whether you are a winner or a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/everybody-has-bad-days-but-how-you-respond-to-it-is-a-testament-to/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [I recently had an epiphany and now I'm making the most of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recently-had-an-epiphany-and-now-i-m-making-the-most-of-my-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [I've always been a fan of old-time hymns and Scots-Irish dirges, though I wouldn't necessarily consider myself an expert on the type of music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-old-time-hymns-and-scots-irish-dirges/) [Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [These were days when my heart was volcanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allen-poe/these-were-days-when-my-heart-was-volcanic/) [Edgar Allen Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allen-poe/) > [Some days, I'm going to miss shots; some days, I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/some-days-i-m-going-to-miss-shots-some-days-i-m-not/) [Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We simply do not have time as we move from one meeting to the next to have hours to peruse leisure websites of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/we-simply-do-not-have-time-as-we-move-from-one-meeting-to-the-next-to/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) Browse all 4,561 Days quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we could be mindful of how short our time is, we might learn how precious each day is.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John O'Donohue" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our-time-is-we-might-learn-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Days" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our-time-is-we-might-learn-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/john-o-donohue-1919_days_if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our_103026.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/john-o-donohue-1919_days_if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our_103026.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/john-o-donohue-1919_days_if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our_103026.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we could be mindful of how short our time is, we might learn how precious each day is.” — John O'Donohue", "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": "John O'Donohue", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If we could be mindful of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our-time-is-we-might-learn-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/if-we-could-be-mindful-of-how-short-our-time-is-we-might-learn-how/#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 } } ] } ```