--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be still with yourself until the object…" description: "\"Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.\" — Minor White" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/minor-white-15513_attention_be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object_2916412.jpg" --- # Be still with yourself until the object of your attention… ![“Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.” quote by Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/minor-white-15513_attention_be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object_2916412.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/minor-white-15513_attention_be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object_2916412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/minor-white-15513_attention_be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object_2916412.jpg) > “Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.” [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stillness within allows the object of focus to affirm its existence, creating a reciprocal presence between observer and observed. **In simple terms:** Be still to let focus affirm itself. Key Takeaway Practice mindful observation. Themes mindfulness perception presence photography self‑awareness Mood calm focused introspective Type artistic spiritual psychological When to use this quote - meditation - artistic practice - scientific observation - personal reflection Key Concepts stillness reciprocity visual clarity Questions to Reflect On - How does inner stillness affect your perception? - What practices help you stay present? A Different Perspective Distractions hinder true perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affirms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirms-1022035/) [Affirms Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirms-presence-4226882/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention Affirms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-affirms-4226881/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Your presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-presence/) ## Related quotes > [Be still with yourself Until the object of your attention Affirms your presence Let the Subject generate its own Composition When the image mirrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object-of-your-attention-affirms-2/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Your presence here is is only a matter of conducting an experiment in limits, reminding yourself of what you aren’t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/your-presence-here-is-is-only-a-matter-of-conducting-an-experiment-in/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [Consider that you radiate. At all times. Consider that what you’re feeling right now is rippling outward into a field of is-ness that anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/consider-that-you-radiate-at-all-times-consider-that-what-you-re/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Lightning, your presence from ground to sky, no one knows what becomes of me, when you take me so quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/lightning-your-presence-from-ground-to-sky-no-one-knows-what-becomes/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Father I am waiting, I need to hear from You, to know that You're approving, of what I say and do, cause nothing really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-upton/father-i-am-waiting-i-need-to-hear-from-you-to-know-that-you-re/) [Jason Upton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-upton/) > [Give me faith, Lord, to know Your Presence as surely as I know the beating of my own heart. I've felt so far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/give-me-faith-lord-to-know-your-presence-as-surely-as-i-know-the/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [The key is to become aware of how you are signaling your presence in meetings, conversations, speeches - everywhere you show up. Then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-morgan/the-key-is-to-become-aware-of-how-you-are-signaling-your-presence-in/) [Nick Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-morgan/) > [Music is what you notice when it's no longer in your presence...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/music-is-what-you-notice-when-it-s-no-longer-in-your-presence/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [In Tibetan, authentic presence is wangthang, which literally means, 'field of power'... The cause or the virtue that brings about authentic presence is emptying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/in-tibetan-authentic-presence-is-wangthang-which-literally-means/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I grew up in a rough environment. You want to be strong and have your presence felt out there. That attitude reflects how people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mekhi-phifer/i-grew-up-in-a-rough-environment-you-want-to-be-strong-and-have-your/) [Mekhi Phifer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mekhi-phifer/) > [Logic itself affirms that a loving Heavenly Father would not abandon His children without providing a way for them to learn of Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/logic-itself-affirms-that-a-loving-heavenly-father-would-not-abandon/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [On the whole, I am on the side of the unregenerate who affirms the worth of life as an end in itself, as against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/on-the-whole-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-unregenerate-who-affirms-the/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/our-smile-affirms-our-awareness-and-determination-to-live-in-peace/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Male supremacy is fused into the language, so that every sentence both heralds and affirms it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/male-supremacy-is-fused-into-the-language-so-that-every-sentence-both/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) ## More by Minor White > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/often-while-traveling-with-a-camera-we-arrive-just-as-the-sun-slips/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Reaching a 'creative' state of mind thru positive action is considered preferable to waiting for 'inspiration'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/reaching-a-creative-state-of-mind-thru-positive-action-is-considered/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [In putting images together I become active, and excitement is of another order - synthesis overshadows analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/in-putting-images-together-i-become-active-and-excitement-is-of/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Photographers who come up with power never get accused of imitating anyone else even though they photograph the same broom, same street, same portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/photographers-who-come-up-with-power-never-get-accused-of-imitating/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [When I looked at things for what they are I was fool enough to persist in my folly and found that each photograph was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-i-looked-at-things-for-what-they-are-i-was-fool-enough-to/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Watching the way the current moves a blade of grass - sometimes I've seen that happen and it has just turned me inside out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/watching-the-way-the-current-moves-a-blade-of-grass-sometimes-i-ve/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Different levels of photography require different levels of understanding and skill. A "press the button, let George do the rest" photographer needs little or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/different-levels-of-photography-require-different-levels-of/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Before he has seen the whole, how unusually perceptive and imaginative the person must be to evolve the entire sequence by meditating on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/before-he-has-seen-the-whole-how-unusually-perceptive-and-imaginative/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Let the subject generate its own photographs. Become a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/let-the-subject-generate-its-own-photographs-become-a-camera/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [We could teach photography as a way to make a living, and best of all, somehow to get students to experience for themselves photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/we-could-teach-photography-as-a-way-to-make-a-living-and-best-of-all/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [At first glance a photograph can inform us. At second glance it can reach us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/at-first-glance-a-photograph-can-inform-us-at-second-glance-it-can/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [A very receptive state of mind... not unlike a sheet of film itself - seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/a-very-receptive-state-of-mind-not-unlike-a-sheet-of-film-itself/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [When gifts are given to me through my camera, I accept them graciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-gifts-are-given-to-me-through-my-camera-i-accept-them-graciously/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [...insight, vision, moments of revelation. During those rare moments something overtakes the man and he becomes the tool of a greater Force; the servant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/insight-vision-moments-of-revelation-during-those-rare-moments/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) [Explore all 43 Minor White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Minor White" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object-of-your-attention-affirms/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object-of-your-attention-affirms/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/minor-white-15513_attention_be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object_2916412.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/minor-white-15513_attention_be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object_2916412.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/022/minor-white-15513_attention_be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object_2916412.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.” — Minor White", "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": "Minor White", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Be still with yourself until the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object-of-your-attention-affirms/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/be-still-with-yourself-until-the-object-of-your-attention-affirms/#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 } } ] } ```