--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For life goes, not backward nor tarries…" description: "\"For life goes, not backward nor tarries with yesterday.\" — Khalil Gibran" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/khalil-gibran-286_bows-and-arrows_for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-w_1076269.jpg" --- # For life goes, not backward nor tarries with yesterday. ![“For life goes, not backward nor tarries with yesterday.” quote by Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/khalil-gibran-286_bows-and-arrows_for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-w_1076269.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/khalil-gibran-286_bows-and-arrows_for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-w_1076269.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/khalil-gibran-286_bows-and-arrows_for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-w_1076269.jpg) > “For life goes, not backward nor tarries with yesterday.” [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life moves forward without returning or lingering on past events. **In simple terms:** Life moves forward, not back or stuck. Key Takeaway Embrace the present moment. Themes time impermanence mindfulness Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily decisions - grieving loss - planning future Key Concepts existentialism temporal flow Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor yesterday while staying present? - What habits keep you anchored now? A Different Perspective Ignoring the past can lead to repeating mistakes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bows and arrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bows-and-arrows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Prophet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophet/) [Raising children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raising-children/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) ## Related quotes > [You may strive to be like them but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-may-strive-to-be-like-them-but-seek-not-to-make-them-like-you-for/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness, for even as he loves the arrow that flies, so he loves also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/let-your-bending-in-the-archer-s-hand-be-for-gladness-for-even-as-he/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth./The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-are-the-bows-from-which-your-children-as-living-arrows-are-sent-3/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [He who moves not forward, goes backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/he-who-moves-not-forward-goes-backward/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [When one makes a Revolution, one cannot mark time; one must always go forward - or go back. He who now talks about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/when-one-makes-a-revolution-one-cannot-mark-time-one-must-always-go/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“Think't the best voyage that e'er you made like an irregular crab which, though’t goes backward, thinks that it goes right, because it goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/think-t-the-best-voyage-that-e-er-you-made-like-an-irregular-crab/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [William Tell's son, Telly, who said as his father was pointing the bow and arrow at the apple on his head, There's gotta be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/william-tell-s-son-telly-who-said-as-his-father-was-pointing-the-bow/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/patience-is-more-than-endurance-a-saint-s-life-is-in-the-hands-of-god/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [I don't think that the contradictions between capitalism and socialism can be resolved by war. This is no longer the age of the bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/i-don-t-think-that-the-contradictions-between-capitalism-and/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [These people were well dressed in skins, had some guns, but armed generally with bows and arrows and such other instruments of war as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-ashley/these-people-were-well-dressed-in-skins-had-some-guns-but-armed/) [William Henry Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-ashley/) > [Look at me. I was a warrior on this land where the sun rises, now I come from where the sun sets. Whose voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-cloud/look-at-me-i-was-a-warrior-on-this-land-where-the-sun-rises-now-i/) [Red Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-cloud/) > [The history of the bow and arrow is the history of mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-bear/the-history-of-the-bow-and-arrow-is-the-history-of-mankind/) [Fred Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-bear/) > [Hunting and fishing involve killing animals with devices (such as guns) for which the animals have not evolved natural defenses. No animal on earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/hunting-and-fishing-involve-killing-animals-with-devices-such-as-guns/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [I'm pretty outdoorsy. My family used to live in the hills in the middle of nowhere pretty much. We literally used to have bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-hemsworth/i-m-pretty-outdoorsy-my-family-used-to-live-in-the-hills-in-the/) [Liam Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-hemsworth/) > [I did archery when I was in high school. In our gym class we had two weeks of archery, and I remember taking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/i-did-archery-when-i-was-in-high-school-in-our-gym-class-we-had-two/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) ## More by Khalil Gibran > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Hate is a dead thing. Who of you would be a tomb?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/hate-is-a-dead-thing-who-of-you-would-be-a-tomb/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Only once have I been made mute. It was when a man asked me, 'Who are you?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/only-once-have-i-been-made-mute-it-was-when-a-man-asked-me-who-are-you/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-truly-just-is-he-who-feels-half-guilty-of-your-misdeeds/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“follow the steps trust them and yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/follow-the-steps-trust-them-and-yourself/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/beauty-is-not-a-need-but-an-ecstasy-it-is-not-a-mouth-thirsting-nor/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/that-which-sings-and-contemplates-in-you-is-still-dwelling-within-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-pray-in-your-distress-and-in-your-need-would-that-you-might-also/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it, And the clay that fills your ears shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-veil-that-clouds-your-eyes-shall-be-lifted-by-the-hands-that-wove/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/work-is-love-made-visible-and-if-you-cannot-work-with-love-but-only/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/joy-and-sorrow-are-inseparable-together-they-come-and-when-one-sits/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/like-the-ocean-is-your-god-self-it-remains-for-ever-undefiled-and/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) [Explore all 688 Khalil Gibran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More Bows and arrows quotes > [I did archery when I was in high school. In our gym class we had two weeks of archery, and I remember taking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/i-did-archery-when-i-was-in-high-school-in-our-gym-class-we-had-two/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) > [I'm pretty outdoorsy. My family used to live in the hills in the middle of nowhere pretty much. We literally used to have bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-hemsworth/i-m-pretty-outdoorsy-my-family-used-to-live-in-the-hills-in-the/) [Liam Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-hemsworth/) > [Hunting and fishing involve killing animals with devices (such as guns) for which the animals have not evolved natural defenses. No animal on earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/hunting-and-fishing-involve-killing-animals-with-devices-such-as-guns/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness, for even as he loves the arrow that flies, so he loves also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/let-your-bending-in-the-archer-s-hand-be-for-gladness-for-even-as-he/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The history of the bow and arrow is the history of mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-bear/the-history-of-the-bow-and-arrow-is-the-history-of-mankind/) [Fred Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-bear/) > [Look at me. I was a warrior on this land where the sun rises, now I come from where the sun sets. Whose voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-cloud/look-at-me-i-was-a-warrior-on-this-land-where-the-sun-rises-now-i/) [Red Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-cloud/) > [These people were well dressed in skins, had some guns, but armed generally with bows and arrows and such other instruments of war as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-ashley/these-people-were-well-dressed-in-skins-had-some-guns-but-armed/) [William Henry Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-ashley/) > [I don't think that the contradictions between capitalism and socialism can be resolved by war. This is no longer the age of the bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/i-don-t-think-that-the-contradictions-between-capitalism-and/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/patience-is-more-than-endurance-a-saint-s-life-is-in-the-hands-of-god/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [You may strive to be like them but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-may-strive-to-be-like-them-but-seek-not-to-make-them-like-you-for/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [William Tell's son, Telly, who said as his father was pointing the bow and arrow at the apple on his head, There's gotta be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/william-tell-s-son-telly-who-said-as-his-father-was-pointing-the-bow/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [When you shoot a bow and arrow, you aim at the clouds, not because you expect to hit them, but so that you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/when-you-shoot-a-bow-and-arrow-you-aim-at-the-clouds-not-because-you/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [If you understand real practice, then archery or other activities can be zen. If you don't understand how to practice archery in its true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/if-you-understand-real-practice-then-archery-or-other-activities-can/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Ideas are great arrows, but there has to be a bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/ideas-are-great-arrows-but-there-has-to-be-a-bow/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [It is an old custom amongst Jewish children, to become war-like on the 'L'ag Beomer.' They arm themselves from head to foot with wooden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-aleichem/it-is-an-old-custom-amongst-jewish-children-to-become-war-like-on-the/) [Sholom Aleichem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholom-aleichem/) [Browse all 28 Bows and arrows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bows-and-arrows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For life goes, not backward nor tarries with yesterday.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Khalil Gibran" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-with-yesterday/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bows and arrows" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-with-yesterday/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/khalil-gibran-286_bows-and-arrows_for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-w_1076269.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/khalil-gibran-286_bows-and-arrows_for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-w_1076269.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/378/khalil-gibran-286_bows-and-arrows_for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-w_1076269.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For life goes, not backward nor tarries with yesterday.” — Khalil Gibran", "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": "Khalil Gibran", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For life goes, not backward nor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-with-yesterday/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/for-life-goes-not-backward-nor-tarries-with-yesterday/#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 } } ] } ```