--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: time was just a hangover from the past…" description: "\"“time was just a hangover from the past with no present meaning”\" — Norman Maclean" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/norman-maclean-10625_time_time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-w_1194782.jpg" --- # time was just a hangover from the past with no present… ![“time was just a hangover from the past with no present meaning” quote by Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/norman-maclean-10625_time_time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-w_1194782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/norman-maclean-10625_time_time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-w_1194782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/norman-maclean-10625_time_time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-w_1194782.jpg) > ““time was just a hangover from the past with no present meaning”” [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The past lingers like a hangover, offering no relevance to the present moment. **In simple terms:** Past is a lingering hangover, not present. Key Takeaway Live in the now, let go of past weight. Themes memory present-moment impermanence Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - mindfulness practice - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts hangover metaphor temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How does past affect your present focus? - What lets you release lingering memories? A Different Perspective Clinging to past can hinder present awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Hangover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hangover/) [Hangover Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hangover-past-3560185/) [Just Hangover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-hangover-3560186/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-present/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Love is just the hangover after a tequila shot of stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubham-joshi/love-is-just-the-hangover-after-a-tequila-shot-of-stupidity/) [Shubham Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubham-joshi/) > [ The most important thing I learned \[...\] was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-extence/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-was-that-when-a-person-dies-he/) [Gavin Extence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-extence/) > [I've never really had a favorite player, past or present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-carlsen/i-ve-never-really-had-a-favorite-player-past-or-present/) [Magnus Carlsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-carlsen/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [There is no night life in Spain. They stay up late but they get up late. That is not night life. That is delaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-is-no-night-life-in-spain-they-stay-up-late-but-they-get-up/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Tension means hurry, fear, doubt. Tension means a constant effort to protect, to be secure, to be safe. Tension means preparing for the tomorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/tension-means-hurry-fear-doubt-tension-means-a-constant-effort-to/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I was a hangover of that era where they’d say “Take off that medal! Is that a St. Christopher medal? 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All this mellow music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-young/we-came-out-in-the-midst-of-the-hippie-hangover-all-this-mellow-music/) [Angus Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-young/) > [Overspending is as certain a part of the holiday season as overeating. But pushing away from both the table and the cash register at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/overspending-is-as-certain-a-part-of-the-holiday-season-as-overeating/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [“hangover is better than hanging…!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-a-samuel/hangover-is-better-than-hanging/) [felix a samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-a-samuel/) > [ What's cool is that in the story of the movie \[The Hangover\] our characters are also really kind of getting to know each other… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/what-s-cool-is-that-in-the-story-of-the-movie-the-hangover-our/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) ## More by Norman Maclean > [At the time I did not know that stories of life are often more like rivers than books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/at-the-time-i-did-not-know-that-stories-of-life-are-often-more-like/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“In this story of the outside world and the inside world with a fire between, the outside world of little screwups recedes now for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/in-this-story-of-the-outside-world-and-the-inside-world-with-a-fire/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“I hope there are others also who don't mind trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-hope-there-are-others-also-who-don-t-mind-trees/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Probably most catastrophes end this way without an ending, the dead not even knowing how they died...,those who loved them forever questioning "this unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/probably-most-catastrophes-end-this-way-without-an-ending-the-dead/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [If our father had had his way, nobody who did not know how to fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/if-our-father-had-had-his-way-nobody-who-did-not-know-how-to-fish/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [I knew that, when needed, mountains would move for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-knew-that-when-needed-mountains-would-move-for-me/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“I sat there and forgot and forgot, until what remained was the river that went by and I who watched... Eventually the watcher joined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-sat-there-and-forgot-and-forgot-until-what-remained-was-the-river/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/it-is-those-we-live-with-and-love-and-should-know-who-elude-us/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Unless we are willing to escape into sentimentality or fantasy, often the best we can do with catastrophes, even our own, is to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/unless-we-are-willing-to-escape-into-sentimentality-or-fantasy-often/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [As for my father, I never knew whether he believed God was a mathematician but he certainly believed God could count and that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/as-for-my-father-i-never-knew-whether-he-believed-god-was-a/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/at-sunrise-everything-is-luminous-but-not-clear/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“On the Big Blackfoot River above the mouth of Belmont Creek the banks are fringed by large Ponderosa pines. In the slanting sun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/on-the-big-blackfoot-river-above-the-mouth-of-belmont-creek-the-banks/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/of-course-now-i-am-too-old-to-be-much-of-a-fisherman-and-now-of/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“...it is not fly fishing if you are not looking for answers to questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/it-is-not-fly-fishing-if-you-are-not-looking-for-answers-to-questions/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/eventually-all-things-merge-into-one-and-a-river-runs-through-it-the/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) [Explore all 64 Norman Maclean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) [Levi Keely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-keely/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“time was just a hangover from the past with no present meaning”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Maclean" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-with-no-present-meaning/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-with-no-present-meaning/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/norman-maclean-10625_time_time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-w_1194782.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/norman-maclean-10625_time_time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-w_1194782.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/norman-maclean-10625_time_time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-w_1194782.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“time was just a hangover from the past with no present meaning” — Norman Maclean", "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": "Norman Maclean", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“time was just a hangover from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-with-no-present-meaning/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/time-was-just-a-hangover-from-the-past-with-no-present-meaning/#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 } } ] } ```