--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It may seem paradoxical to say that we…" description: "\"It may seem paradoxical to say that we have been expelled from the present, but it is a feeling we have all had at some moment. Some of us experienced ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/octavio-paz-1790_action_it-may-seem-paradoxical-to-say-that-we-h_458386.jpg" --- # It may seem paradoxical to say that we have been expelled… ![“It may seem paradoxical to say that we have been expelled from the present, but it is a feeling we have all had at some moment. Some of us experienced it first as a condemnation, later transformed into consciousness and action. The search for the present is neither the pursuit of an earthly…” quote by Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/octavio-paz-1790_action_it-may-seem-paradoxical-to-say-that-we-h_458386.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/octavio-paz-1790_action_it-may-seem-paradoxical-to-say-that-we-h_458386.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/octavio-paz-1790_action_it-may-seem-paradoxical-to-say-that-we-h_458386.jpg) > “It may seem paradoxical to say that we have been expelled from the present, but it is a feeling we have all had at some moment. Some of us experienced it first as a condemnation, later transformed into consciousness and action. The search for the present is neither the pursuit of an earthly paradise nor that of a timeless eternity: it is the search for a real reality.” [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on how we feel disconnected from the present, turning that alienation into awareness and purposeful action, seeking genuine reality rather than idealized past or future. **In simple terms:** Feeling disconnected can become awareness and drive toward real reality. Key Takeaway Turn alienation into conscious action. Themes presence consciousness reality transformation Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative work - meditation - social activism Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you anchor yourself in the now? - What does “real reality” mean to you? A Different Perspective The present is elusive and may never be fully captured. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Condemnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemnation/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Metamorphosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metamorphosis/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise/) [Paradoxical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxical/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless/) ## Related quotes > [Stale artifacts of the past' are always 'active components of the present moment' when they are experienced in the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/stale-artifacts-of-the-past-are-always-active-components-of-the/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [“I used to be terrified of death. 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There is something deeply fulfilling — even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/a-life-that-doesn-t-include-hard-won-accomplishment-and-triumph-over/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [When you are grounded in the present - feeling your feelings, listening to your body, tasting your food, and expressing your ideas - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/when-you-are-grounded-in-the-present-feeling-your-feelings-listening/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [We all have spirits present with us who are feeling the way we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/we-all-have-spirits-present-with-us-who-are-feeling-the-way-we-are/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [We pursue her in her incessant metamorphoses yet we never manage to trap her. She always escapes: each encounter ends in flight. We embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/we-pursue-her-in-her-incessant-metamorphoses-yet-we-never-manage-to/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I hesitate to speak about what the character's feeling in a moment just simply because I don't wanna rob the audience of the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-barbaro/i-hesitate-to-speak-about-what-the-character-s-feeling-in-a-moment/) [Monica Barbaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-barbaro/) > [“His smile was small and fierce as he leaned forward into Neil's space. "Remember this feeling. This is the moment you stop being the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-sakavic/his-smile-was-small-and-fierce-as-he-leaned-forward-into-neil-s-space/) [Nora Sakavic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-sakavic/) > [“What is it about the moment you fall in love? How can such small measure of time contain such enormity? 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Can it also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/it-is-not-proper-to-project-our-feelings-onto-things-or-to-attribute/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Without democracy freedom is a chimera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/without-democracy-freedom-is-a-chimera/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“I went to the little window and inhaled the country air. One could hear the breathing of the night, feminine, enormous. ("The Blue Bouquet")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-went-to-the-little-window-and-inhaled-the-country-air-one-could/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [A glass pitcher, a wicker basket, a tunic of coarse cloth. Their beauty is inseparable from their function. 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