--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The First thing to understand about the…" description: "\"The First thing to understand about the universe is that no condition is \"good\" or \"bad.\" It just is. So stop making value judgments. The second thing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a3/neale-donald-walsch-239_conditions_the-first-thing-to-understand-about-the_2933870.jpg" --- # The First thing to understand about the universe is that… ![“The First thing to understand about the universe is that no condition is "good" or "bad." It just is. So stop making value judgments. The second thing to know is that all conditions are temporary. Nothing stays the same, nothing remains static. Which way a thing changes depends on you.” quote by Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a3/neale-donald-walsch-239_conditions_the-first-thing-to-understand-about-the_2933870.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a3/neale-donald-walsch-239_conditions_the-first-thing-to-understand-about-the_2933870.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a3/neale-donald-walsch-239_conditions_the-first-thing-to-understand-about-the_2933870.jpg) > “The First thing to understand about the universe is that no condition is "good" or "bad." It just is. So stop making value judgments. The second thing to know is that all conditions are temporary. Nothing stays the same, nothing remains static. Which way a thing changes depends on you.” [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is neutral; judgments label it good or bad, and all states are fleeting, shaped by personal perspective. **In simple terms:** Life isn’t good or bad; it just is and changes. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence and choose your response. Themes impermanence perspective choice Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - stress management - relationship counseling - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy mindfulness existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you react when a situation feels “bad”? - What can you learn from a temporary state? A Different Perspective Labels can limit perception and cause suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conversations with god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversations-with-god/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Things change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-change/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing stays the same, nothing remains static. Which way a thing changes depends on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/nothing-stays-the-same-nothing-remains-static-which-way-a-thing/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“You say “hold to your values” at the same time you say our values are all wrong. Help me with this. I have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/you-say-hold-to-your-values-at-the-same-time-you-say-our-values-are-2/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“You say “hold to your values” at the same time you say our values are all wrong. Help me with this. I have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/you-say-hold-to-your-values-at-the-same-time-you-say-our-values-are/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Thinking is hard. Making value judgments is difficult. It places you at pure creation, because there are so many times you'll have to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/thinking-is-hard-making-value-judgments-is-difficult-it-places-you-at/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Keep moving and forward either in bad condition or good condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-moving-and-forward-either-in-bad-condition-or-good-condition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pharisaism is not a degeneration in a good man: a large portion of it is rather the condition of all being-good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pharisaism-is-not-a-degeneration-in-a-good-man-a-large-portion-of-it/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I've prided myself on being in excellent condition-as good as any man in my profession. Now this doesn't come from sitting around on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilt-chamberlain/i-ve-prided-myself-on-being-in-excellent-condition-as-good-as-any-man/) [Wilt Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilt-chamberlain/) > [Life is a creation, not a discovery. You do not live each day to discover what it holds for you, but to create it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/life-is-a-creation-not-a-discovery-you-do-not-live-each-day-to/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Worry is just about the worst form of mental activity there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/worry-is-just-about-the-worst-form-of-mental-activity-there-is/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Go ahead and do what you really love to do! Do nothing else! You have so little time. How can you think of wasting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/go-ahead-and-do-what-you-really-love-to-do-do-nothing-else-you-have/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Do you want your life to truly take off? Then change your idea about it. About you. Think, speak and act as the God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/do-you-want-your-life-to-truly-take-off-then-change-your-idea-about/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [There is nothing scary about life if you are not attached to results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/there-is-nothing-scary-about-life-if-you-are-not-attached-to-results/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Nothing can happen, nothing can occur in your life which is not a precisely perfect opportunity for you to heal something, create something, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/nothing-can-happen-nothing-can-occur-in-your-life-which-is-not-a/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Life can show up no other way than that way in which you perceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/life-can-show-up-no-other-way-than-that-way-in-which-you-perceive-it/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The purpose of a relationship is to decide what part of yourself you'd like to see 'show up', not what part of another you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-purpose-of-a-relationship-is-to-decide-what-part-of-yourself-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## More by Neale Donald Walsch > [Pain results from a judgment you have made about a thing. Remove the judgment and the pain disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/pain-results-from-a-judgment-you-have-made-about-a-thing-remove-the/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Mine is always your Highest Thought, your Clearest Word, your Grandest Feeling. Anything less is from another source.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/mine-is-always-your-highest-thought-your-clearest-word-your-grandest/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [All change in life comes from within. It is what's in humanity's soul, not what's in humanity's wallet, that will purchase our freedom from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/all-change-in-life-comes-from-within-it-is-what-s-in-humanity-s-soul/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [It is not nearly so important how well a message is received as how well it is sent. You cannot take responsibility for how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-not-nearly-so-important-how-well-a-message-is-received-as-how/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Fear and caution are two different things. Be cautious - be conscious - but do not be fearful. Fear only paralyzes, while consciousness mobilizes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/fear-and-caution-are-two-different-things-be-cautious-be-conscious/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The new spirituality will also base itself on a third very large spiritual understanding, which is that life is eternal. Most religious people claim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-new-spirituality-will-also-base-itself-on-a-third-very-large/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Truth is often uncomfortable. It is only comforting to those who do not wish to ignore it. Then, truth becomes not only comforting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/truth-is-often-uncomfortable-it-is-only-comforting-to-those-who-do/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [What is needed today is for all of us to work to change the world's mind about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/what-is-needed-today-is-for-all-of-us-to-work-to-change-the-world-s/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [By declaring yourself a leader, you're taking initiative and moving into a role of influence in a lively and vital network that's changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/by-declaring-yourself-a-leader-you-re-taking-initiative-and-moving/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Postanite instrument Moga mira. Postoji li mržnja bilo gdje, širite ljubav; Postoji li povreda bilo gdje, širite oproštaj; Postoji li sumnja bilo gdje, širite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/postanite-instrument-moga-mira-postoji-li-mr-nja-bilo-gdje-irite/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Government is the perfect portrayer of the accuracy of the axiom that if you lie big enough, long enough, the lie becomes the “truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/government-is-the-perfect-portrayer-of-the-accuracy-of-the-axiom-that/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“When you give your children knowledge, you are telling them what to think. That is, you are telling them what they are supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/when-you-give-your-children-knowledge-you-are-telling-them-what-to/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) [Explore all 840 Neale Donald Walsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## More Conditions quotes > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [It clearly follows that to make men moral it is necessary to make their social environment moral. And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [The so-called evils are evils only in relation to a certain thing, and that which is evil in relation to a certain existing thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-so-called-evils-are-evils-only-in-relation-to-a-certain-thing-and/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Experiences in order to be educative must lead out into an expanding world of subject matter, a subject matter of facts or information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/experiences-in-order-to-be-educative-must-lead-out-into-an-expanding/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A social group can, indeed must, already exercise 'leadership' before winning governmental power (this is indeed one of the principal conditions for the winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/a-social-group-can-indeed-must-already-exercise-leadership-before/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [I'm a Christian because Christianity names and addresses sin. 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