--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Very strange is this quality of our human…" description: "\"Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present.\" — Phil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/phillips-brooks-2696_decree_very-strange-is-this-quality-of-our-huma_2536289.png" --- # Very strange is this quality of our human nature which… ![“Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present.” quote by Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/phillips-brooks-2696_decree_very-strange-is-this-quality-of-our-huma_2536289.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/phillips-brooks-2696_decree_very-strange-is-this-quality-of-our-huma_2536289.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/phillips-brooks-2696_decree_very-strange-is-this-quality-of-our-huma_2536289.png) > “Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present.” [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings need a sense of future purpose to fully engage with the present; without it, present‑moment living feels incomplete. **In simple terms:** Future vision fuels present living. Key Takeaway Cultivate hope for tomorrow. Themes psychology philosophy time purpose mindfulness Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal goal setting - therapy sessions - educational workshops - creative planning Key Concepts existential meaning temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - What future vision motivates you today? - How does present awareness change when you lack a clear future? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on future can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decree/) [Feel Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-future-1390381/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-quality-1390382/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unless Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unless-feel-561092/) ## Related quotes > [Books have that strange quality, that being of the frailest and tenderest matter, they outlast brass, iron and marble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-drummond/books-have-that-strange-quality-that-being-of-the-frailest-and/) [William Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-drummond/) > [“The paintings had a strange quality: they were figurative but there were no figures in them. They looked as if they might suddenly dissolve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-paintings-had-a-strange-quality-they-were-figurative-but-there/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [We assume, falsely, that how we feel now is how we will feel in the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-assume-falsely-that-how-we-feel-now-is-how-we-will-feel-in-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I rejoice when I meet gifted young people... I feel the future is in good hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/i-rejoice-when-i-meet-gifted-young-people-i-feel-the-future-is-in/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [“If you can feel the future, then you are about to experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta-betelgeuse-incident/if-you-can-feel-the-future-then-you-are-about-to-experience-it/) [Toba Beta \[Betelgeuse Incident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta-betelgeuse-incident/) > [Most of my music is reflective, imaginative. A lot of it is about how I'm going to feel in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masego/most-of-my-music-is-reflective-imaginative-a-lot-of-it-is-about-how-i/) [Masego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masego/) > [“It was one of those moments when you feel the future so much that it humbles the present. Her absence was palpable, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/it-was-one-of-those-moments-when-you-feel-the-future-so-much-that-it-2/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [We can’t heal what we don’t feel. We can’t have a future until we fully inhabit our present. It’s like the proverbial Groundhog Day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/we-can-t-heal-what-we-don-t-feel-we-can-t-have-a-future-until-we/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [It was one of those moments when you feel the future so much that it humbles the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-was-one-of-those-moments-when-you-feel-the-future-so-much-that-it/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“We feel that in the future, groups are going to have to offer much more than just a pop show. They'll have to offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-barrett/we-feel-that-in-the-future-groups-are-going-to-have-to-offer-much/) [Syd Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-barrett/) > [You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born. Fear not the strangeness you feel. The future must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/you-must-give-birth-to-your-images-they-are-the-future-waiting-to-be/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-shihab-nye/before-you-know-what-kindness-really-is-you-must-lose-things-feel-the/) [Naomi Shihab Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-shihab-nye/) > [I don't care about the future. I feel the future always reserves enough good things for you if you stay open and you smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rubens-barrichello/i-don-t-care-about-the-future-i-feel-the-future-always-reserves/) [Rubens Barrichello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rubens-barrichello/) > [Genius, by its very intensity, decrees a special path of fire for its vivid power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/genius-by-its-very-intensity-decrees-a-special-path-of-fire-for-its/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Unless I am what I am and feel what I feel - as hard as I can and as honestly and truly as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/unless-i-am-what-i-am-and-feel-what-i-feel-as-hard-as-i-can-and-as/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) ## More by Phillips Brooks > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/christmas-day-is-a-day-of-joy-and-charity-may-god-make-you-very-rich/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Preaching is truth through personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/preaching-is-truth-through-personality/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/nothing-lies-beyond-the-reach-of-prayer-except-that-which-lies/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Everywhere the flower of obedience is intelligence. 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Pray for powers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/o-do-not-pray-for-easy-lives-pray-to-be-stronger-men-do-not-pray-for/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [So shall we join the disciples of our Lord, keeping faith in Him in spite of the crucifixion, and making ready, by our loyalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/so-shall-we-join-the-disciples-of-our-lord-keeping-faith-in-him-in/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-trouble-is-that-i-m-in-a-hurry-but-god-isn-t/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-truest-help-we-can-render-an-afflicted-man-is-not-to-take-his/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [“The danger facing all of us--let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously--is not that we shall make an absolute failure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-danger-facing-all-of-us-let-me-say-it-again-for-one-feels-it/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [There is a necessary limit to our achievement, but none to our attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/there-is-a-necessary-limit-to-our-achievement-but-none-to-our-attempt/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Character - Some day, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/character-some-day-you-will-be-wrestling-with-the-great-temptation-or/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [The essential tendency of life is toward happiness . . . . Optimism is the only true condition for a reasonable man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/the-essential-tendency-of-life-is-toward-happiness-optimism-is-the/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [To find his place and fill it is success for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/to-find-his-place-and-fill-it-is-success-for-a-man/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [It is God's world still. 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