--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The past is not dead; it is not even…" description: "\"The past is not dead; it is not even past. People live on inner time; the moment in which a decisive thought or feeling takes place can be at any time...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/martha-graham-2832_common_the-past-is-not-dead-it-is-not-even-past_959409.png" --- # The past is not dead; it is not even past. People live on… ![“The past is not dead; it is not even past. People live on inner time; the moment in which a decisive thought or feeling takes place can be at any time. Timeless feelings are common to all of us.” quote by Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/martha-graham-2832_common_the-past-is-not-dead-it-is-not-even-past_959409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/martha-graham-2832_common_the-past-is-not-dead-it-is-not-even-past_959409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/martha-graham-2832_common_the-past-is-not-dead-it-is-not-even-past_959409.png) > “The past is not dead; it is not even past. People live on inner time; the moment in which a decisive thought or feeling takes place can be at any time. Timeless feelings are common to all of us.” [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Past and present coexist; inner time allows timeless emotions to arise anytime. **In simple terms:** Past lives within us; feelings are timeless. Key Takeaway Recognize that emotions can surface at any moment. Themes time memory emotion Mood philosophical reflective Type quote personal When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - artistic inspiration - personal reflection - education Key Concepts psychology philosophy temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish past from present feelings? - What timeless emotions guide you? A Different Perspective Emotions may be overwhelming without grounding practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Inner Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-time-1763992/) [Live Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-inner-953413/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-timeless-650175/) [Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless/) [Timeless Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless-feelings-1763991/) ## Related quotes > [What does a philosopher demand of himself, first and last? To overcome his time in himself, to become "timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-does-a-philosopher-demand-of-himself-first-and-last-to-overcome/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In your world everything must have a beginning and an end. If it does not, you call it eternal. In my view, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/in-your-world-everything-must-have-a-beginning-and-an-end-if-it-does/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [If you want more time, spend more time in the Timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/if-you-want-more-time-spend-more-time-in-the-timeless/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [I try to present something that is full of time. Not timeless, but full of time. I never like a work where we try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/i-try-to-present-something-that-is-full-of-time-not-timeless-but-full/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [“Moments are precious in life; they transform time into timeless dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/moments-are-precious-in-life-they-transform-time-into-timeless-dreams/) [sir kristian goldmund aumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/) > [I don't have a sense of time. Time is timeless to me, and I'm not in a hurry to get older. I mean, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico/i-don-t-have-a-sense-of-time-time-is-timeless-to-me-and-i-m-not-in-a/) [Nico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico/) > [Every person must live the inner life in one form or another. Consciously or unconsciously, voluntarily or involuntarily, the inner world will claim us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/every-person-must-live-the-inner-life-in-one-form-or-another/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [Create inner freedom through witnessing. Sannyas is only for the inner freedom. And live out of inner freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/create-inner-freedom-through-witnessing-sannyas-is-only-for-the-inner/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I wanted to live the inner life of every man I saw, look at the world through his eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-kuprin/i-wanted-to-live-the-inner-life-of-every-man-i-saw-look-at-the-world/) [Aleksandr Kuprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-kuprin/) > [“If only everyone could know and live their inner craziness. Would the world be a nice placfor it? No, people would be fairer and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/if-only-everyone-could-know-and-live-their-inner-craziness-would-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Make your life worth living, keep healthy attitude, encourage yourself and live with your inner soul always. Never allow life to beat you down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/make-your-life-worth-living-keep-healthy-attitude-encourage-yourself/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [We groove off of everything, any sort of live show. The inner dialogue you're having with yourself, between you and the music, is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-weymouth/we-groove-off-of-everything-any-sort-of-live-show-the-inner-dialogue/) [Tina Weymouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-weymouth/) > [“A myth has been well described as something that in some sense happened once—but that also happens all the time. It is about timeless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/a-myth-has-been-well-described-as-something-that-in-some-sense/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“Light had its allotted time; but timeless and infinite is the reign of the night − the duration of sleep eternal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/light-had-its-allotted-time-but-timeless-and-infinite-is-the-reign-of/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [Time and the timeless dimension co-exist here, now in this very moment that we're living, this very moment that we're speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/time-and-the-timeless-dimension-co-exist-here-now-in-this-very-moment/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) ## More by Martha Graham > [The body never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-never-lies/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You have no right to go before a public without an adequate technique, just because you feel. Anything feels - a leaf feels, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-have-no-right-to-go-before-a-public-without-an-adequate-technique/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-a-vitality-a-life-force-an-energy-a-quickening-that-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Misery is a communicable disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/misery-is-a-communicable-disease/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. 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What makes a great dancer is passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/what-makes-a-great-dancer-is-not-technique-what-makes-a-great-dancer/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [The body is a sacred garment. It's your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-is-a-sacred-garment-it-s-your-first-and-last-garment-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-are-unique-and-if-that-is-not-fulfilled-then-something-has-been/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-see-when-weaving-a-blanket-an-indian-woman-leaves-a-flaw-in-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery - what it all means, the way the little bone near the ankle relates itself to the floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dancing-is-just-discovery-discovery-discovery-what-it-all-means-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Theater used to be a verb; it used to be an act. 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