--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We look backward too much and we look…" description: "\"We look backward too much and we look forward too much; thus we miss the only eternity of which we can be absolutely sure - the eternal present, for it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/m-william-phelps-52967_eternal_we-look-backward-too-much-and-we-look-fo_1651679.jpg" --- # We look backward too much and we look forward too much… ![“We look backward too much and we look forward too much; thus we miss the only eternity of which we can be absolutely sure - the eternal present, for it is always now.” quote by M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/m-william-phelps-52967_eternal_we-look-backward-too-much-and-we-look-fo_1651679.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/m-william-phelps-52967_eternal_we-look-backward-too-much-and-we-look-fo_1651679.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/m-william-phelps-52967_eternal_we-look-backward-too-much-and-we-look-fo_1651679.jpg) > “We look backward too much and we look forward too much; thus we miss the only eternity of which we can be absolutely sure - the eternal present, for it is always now.” [M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We obsess over past and future, missing the certainty of the present moment. **In simple terms:** Focus on the present instead of past or future. Key Takeaway Live in the now. Themes mindfulness time presence Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily routines - stress management - meditation - decision making Key Concepts philosophy psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does the present mean to you? - How can you practice staying present? A Different Perspective Hard to sustain constant present‑moment awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-present-489417/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eternity Absolutely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-absolutely-659954/) [Look Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-backward-268798/) [Look forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-forward/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) ## Related quotes > [Studios look backward. Filmmakers look forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/studios-look-backward-filmmakers-look-forward/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [I'd rather look forward and dream, than look backward and regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-praagh/i-d-rather-look-forward-and-dream-than-look-backward-and-regret/) [James Van Praagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-praagh/) > [“We all know what we should have done as we look backward. Yet looking backward further still, we may say that all goes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/we-all-know-what-we-should-have-done-as-we-look-backward-yet-looking/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [A good soldier, whether he leads a platoon or an army, is expected to look backward as well as forward; but he must think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/a-good-soldier-whether-he-leads-a-platoon-or-an-army-is-expected-to/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [It's also not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that's your pool of resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/it-s-also-not-unusual-for-writers-to-look-backward-because-that-s/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [It is out of fashion in these days to look backward rather than forward. About the only American given to it is some unreconstructed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowe-ransom/it-is-out-of-fashion-in-these-days-to-look-backward-rather-than/) [John Crowe Ransom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowe-ransom/) > [“I had the courage to look backward The ghosts of my days”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-apollinaire/i-had-the-courage-to-look-backward-the-ghosts-of-my-days/) [Guillaume Apollinaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-apollinaire/) > [“...but one cannot look backward, only forward. What has passed has passed forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/but-one-cannot-look-backward-only-forward-what-has-passed-has-passed/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I like to pretend that the years alter and revalue, but begin to see that time does nothing but enlarge without mutation. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/i-like-to-pretend-that-the-years-alter-and-revalue-but-begin-to-see/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [“You have to look backward to see the future,” he often said to his residents. --- stated by Dr Najjar. So true in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/you-have-to-look-backward-to-see-the-future-he-often-said-to-his/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-look-backward-for-a-while-is-to-refresh-the-eye-to-restore-it-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never regret when something has gone wrong & dont look backward. Only time to look backward is to ponder what has gone wrong &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/never-regret-when-something-has-gone-wrong-dont-look-backward-only/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [To me it's a question of being able to look backward and give the present a root... To give meaning to where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/to-me-it-s-a-question-of-being-able-to-look-backward-and-give-the/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [It's not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that's your pool of resources. If you were to write something now, I bet there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/it-s-not-unusual-for-writers-to-look-backward-because-that-s-your/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [I find it hard to focus looking forward. So I look backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-find-it-hard-to-focus-looking-forward-so-i-look-backward/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) ## More by M. William Phelps > [“Some would call this “volcanic rage”—a mind state that murderers need to enter in order to commit the crime—although they are well aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-william-phelps/some-would-call-this-volcanic-rage-a-mind-state-that-murderers-need/) [M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) > [It’s not easy to find old-school journalism in true crime … yet with Lethal Intent, author Sue Russell proves how integrity, tenacity, brutal truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-william-phelps/it-s-not-easy-to-find-old-school-journalism-in-true-crime-yet-with/) [M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) > [“town. Tracy was living the dream. Here it was, not five months before Doug Benton would turn up missing, and Tracy and Doug were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-william-phelps/town-tracy-was-living-the-dream-here-it-was-not-five-months-before/) [M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) > [“signs of identity disturbance, being impulse ridden, unstable in love relations, and she can become intensely volatile and angry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-william-phelps/signs-of-identity-disturbance-being-impulse-ridden-unstable-in-love/) [M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) > [“How did the apartment look?” Riggle wondered. “Nothing was out of place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-william-phelps/how-did-the-apartment-look-riggle-wondered-nothing-was-out-of-place/) [M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) > [“suggests, rather extraordinary with regard to accusation and speculation. Take, for example, this excerpt from page 9: (One source) states in a recorded telephone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-william-phelps/suggests-rather-extraordinary-with-regard-to-accusation-and/) [M. William Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) [Explore all 7 M. William Phelps quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-william-phelps/) ## More Eternal quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-remain-an-eternal-optimist-about-love-i-believe-in-love/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [The time has come for us to understand that the Eternal Feminine is the greatest power in this Universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-understand-that-the-eternal-feminine-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it’s like to live without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-only-way-to-have-eternal-love-is-to-never-let-your-heart-forget/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) [Browse all 3,280 Eternal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We look backward too much and we look forward too much; thus we miss the only eternity of which we can be absolutely sure - the eternal present, for it is always now.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M. 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