--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Breathe in and take one step, and focus…" description: "\"Breathe in and take one step, and focus all your attention on the sole of your foot. If you have not arrived fully, one hundred percent in the here and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/068/nhat-hanh-515_attention_breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-a_2854547.jpg" --- # Breathe in and take one step, and focus all your attention… ![“Breathe in and take one step, and focus all your attention on the sole of your foot. If you have not arrived fully, one hundred percent in the here and the now, don't take the next step.” quote by Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/068/nhat-hanh-515_attention_breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-a_2854547.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/068/nhat-hanh-515_attention_breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-a_2854547.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/068/nhat-hanh-515_attention_breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-a_2854547.jpg) > “Breathe in and take one step, and focus all your attention on the sole of your foot. If you have not arrived fully, one hundred percent in the here and the now, don't take the next step.” [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Full presence requires grounding each step in the sensation of the foot; without complete awareness, pause before moving further. **In simple terms:** Stay fully present in each step. Key Takeaway Pause if not completely present. Themes mindfulness presence movement Mood calm focused Type instructional reflective When to use this quote - walking meditation - daily routines - stress reduction - physical therapy Key Concepts embodiment attention awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you tell when you are truly present? - What prevents you from fully engaging in the now? A Different Perspective If attention drifts, the pause may become avoidance rather than mindfulness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Next step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-step/) [Next steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-steps/) ## Related quotes > [“Take one-step forward, breathe, take another step forward, breathe, and before you know it you will be on the top Enjoying the beauty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janiece-rendon/take-one-step-forward-breathe-take-another-step-forward-breathe-and/) [Janiece Rendon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janiece-rendon/) > [“My enemies study my every step with more focus than my friends ever will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/my-enemies-study-my-every-step-with-more-focus-than-my-friends-ever/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [I do agree that sometimes the best thing to do is to take a step back, focus on yourself, and realign your priorities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-cooper/i-do-agree-that-sometimes-the-best-thing-to-do-is-to-take-a-step-back/) [Brett Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-cooper/) > [Back when I was looking for my next step and was researching Gannett, I was interested in who was leading the various businesses within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracia-martore/back-when-i-was-looking-for-my-next-step-and-was-researching-gannett/) [Gracia Martore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracia-martore/) > [Did you ever walk through a room that's packed with people, and feel so lonely you can hardly take the next step?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/did-you-ever-walk-through-a-room-that-s-packed-with-people-and-feel/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [All the big ideas for getting us onto a lower carbon trajectory involve a lot of people doing a lot of work, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/all-the-big-ideas-for-getting-us-onto-a-lower-carbon-trajectory/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Developing a series is a next step for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/developing-a-series-is-a-next-step-for-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just as feudalism was an advance over slavery, and capitalism was the next step after feudalism, socialism is the next step after capitalism…...Socialism in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-hall/just-as-feudalism-was-an-advance-over-slavery-and-capitalism-was-the/) [Gus Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-hall/) > [Whats great about The Avengers is that its the next step. Its not just superhero fights super-villain and superhero wins. Its about superheroes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leterrier/whats-great-about-the-avengers-is-that-its-the-next-step-its-not-just/) [Louis Leterrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leterrier/) > [If he waits for the ideal moment, he will never set off; he requires a touch of madness to take the next step. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/if-he-waits-for-the-ideal-moment-he-will-never-set-off-he-requires-a/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [A way of life that keeps saying 'Around the next corner, above the next step,' works against the natural order of things and makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-hoff/a-way-of-life-that-keeps-saying-around-the-next-corner-above-the-next/) [Benjamin Hoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-hoff/) > [But perhaps the next step isn't to, once again, expand the otherwise narrow definition of marriage but to altogether abolish the false distinction between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-kohn/but-perhaps-the-next-step-isn-t-to-once-again-expand-the-otherwise/) [Sally Kohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-kohn/) > [Focus on what you're doing. Focus on the phases in front of them. Do everything you can to get the best at that phase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovin-darius/focus-on-what-you-re-doing-focus-on-the-phases-in-front-of-them-do/) [Donovin Darius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovin-darius/) > [Poetry is like walking along a little, tiny, narrow ridge up on a precipice. You never know the next step, whether there's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-jacobsen/poetry-is-like-walking-along-a-little-tiny-narrow-ridge-up-on-a/) Josephine Jacobsen > [Sometimes it wasn't even when we were knocking on doors, it would be, the phone would ring and somebody would say, "God told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kendrick/sometimes-it-wasn-t-even-when-we-were-knocking-on-doors-it-would-be/) [Stephen Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kendrick/) ## More by Nhat Hanh > [Happiness is the cessation of suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/happiness-is-the-cessation-of-suffering/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We need enlightenment, not just individually but collectively, to save the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-need-enlightenment-not-just-individually-but-collectively-to-save/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If you really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-really-know-how-to-live-what-better-way-to-start-the-day-than/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Contemplating the bowl, it is possible to see the interdependent elements which give rise to the bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/contemplating-the-bowl-it-is-possible-to-see-the-interdependent/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Our joy, peace and happiness depend very much on our practice of recognizing and transforming habit energies. There are positive habit energies that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/our-joy-peace-and-happiness-depend-very-much-on-our-practice-of/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [I vow to live fully in each moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/i-vow-to-live-fully-in-each-moment/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Silence is something that comes from your heart, not from outside. Silence doesn't mean not talking and not doing things; it means that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/silence-is-something-that-comes-from-your-heart-not-from-outside/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Freedom is the real foundation of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/freedom-is-the-real-foundation-of-happiness/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon to be preserved in a museum. Only when a practitioner finds the spring of wisdom in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/wisdom-is-a-living-stream-not-an-icon-to-be-preserved-in-a-museum/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We may think of peace as the absence of war, that if the great powers would reduce their weapons arsenals, we could have peace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-may-think-of-peace-as-the-absence-of-war-that-if-the-great-powers/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If you are capable of brushing your teeth in mindfulness, then you will be able to enjoy the time when you take a shower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-are-capable-of-brushing-your-teeth-in-mindfulness-then-you/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-i-am-incapable-of-washing-dishes-joyfully-if-i-want-to-finish-them/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [When we have anger in us, we suffer. When we have discrimination in us, we suffer. When we have the complex of superiority, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/when-we-have-anger-in-us-we-suffer-when-we-have-discrimination-in-us/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/every-morning-when-we-wake-up-we-have-twenty-four-brand-new-hours-to/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [It is best if we do not listen to or look at the person whom we consider to be the cause of our anger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/it-is-best-if-we-do-not-listen-to-or-look-at-the-person-whom-we/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) [Explore all 507 Nhat Hanh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) ## 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": "Breathe in and take one step, and focus all your attention on the sole of your foot. If you have not arrived fully, one hundred percent in the here and the now, don't take the next step.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nhat Hanh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-all-your-attention-on-the-sole/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-all-your-attention-on-the-sole/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/068/nhat-hanh-515_attention_breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-a_2854547.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/068/nhat-hanh-515_attention_breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-a_2854547.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/068/nhat-hanh-515_attention_breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-a_2854547.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Breathe in and take one step, and focus all your attention on the sole of your foot. If you have not arrived…” — Nhat Hanh", "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": "Nhat Hanh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Breathe in and take one step,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-all-your-attention-on-the-sole/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/breathe-in-and-take-one-step-and-focus-all-your-attention-on-the-sole/#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 } } ] } ```