--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But to pay attention is to love everything." description: "\"“But to pay attention is to love everything.”\" — Sarah Manguso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/sarah-manguso-11172_attention_but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everythi_1272428.jpg" --- # But to pay attention is to love everything. ![“But to pay attention is to love everything.” quote by Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/sarah-manguso-11172_attention_but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everythi_1272428.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/sarah-manguso-11172_attention_but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everythi_1272428.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/sarah-manguso-11172_attention_but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everythi_1272428.jpg) > ““But to pay attention is to love everything.”” [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Paying close attention is an act of love toward all that exists. **In simple terms:** Attention is love. Key Takeaway Notice fully, love fully. Themes mindfulness compassion presence Mood reflective gentle Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - everyday interactions - nature observation - relationships - creative work Key Concepts phenomenology interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - How does attention shape your love? - What do you miss when you are distracted? A Different Perspective Attention can be overwhelming or misdirected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direction/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest gifts you can give someone are your time, your attention, your love, and your concern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-gifts-you-can-give-someone-are-your-time-your-attention/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love the attention. I love how I am so loved by the people, especially the girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armaan-malik/i-love-the-attention-i-love-how-i-am-so-loved-by-the-people/) [Armaan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armaan-malik/) > [The best way to forget ones self is to look at the world with attention and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/the-best-way-to-forget-ones-self-is-to-look-at-the-world-with/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enough-to-choose-what-you-pay/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Show up. Pay attention. Tell the truth. Let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-sue-morter/show-up-pay-attention-tell-the-truth-let-go/) Dr. Sue Morter > [There is meaning in all things. But are you paying attention?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/there-is-meaning-in-all-things-but-are-you-paying-attention/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Paying attention and awareness are universal capacities of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/paying-attention-and-awareness-are-universal-capacities-of-human/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [Mindfulness means moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness. It is cultivated by refining our capacity to pay attention, intentionally, in the present moment, and then sustaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/mindfulness-means-moment-to-moment-non-judgmental-awareness-it-is/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [Pay attention to the beauty surrounding you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/pay-attention-to-the-beauty-surrounding-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I think in any writing you're paying attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-think-in-any-writing-you-re-paying-attention-to-detail/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Pay attention to the sound of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farland/pay-attention-to-the-sound-of-words/) [David Farland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farland/) > [The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-secret-is-here-in-the-present-if-you-pay-attention-to-the-present/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Pay no attention to the less courageous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-genn/pay-no-attention-to-the-less-courageous/) [Sara Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-genn/) > [Attention is a limited resource, so pay attention to where you pay attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/attention-is-a-limited-resource-so-pay-attention-to-where-you-pay/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [When we stop fighting with ourselves, we aren't creating anymore conflict in our mind. Then our mind can for the first time relax and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/when-we-stop-fighting-with-ourselves-we-aren-t-creating-anymore/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) ## More by Sarah Manguso > [I like people who possess either deep mastery or deep empathy, but not as much as I like those who possess both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/i-like-people-who-possess-either-deep-mastery-or-deep-empathy-but-not/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [The best thing about time passing is the privilege of running out of it, of watching the wave of mortality break over me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/the-best-thing-about-time-passing-is-the-privilege-of-running-out-of/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“The trouble with comparing yourself to others is that there are too many others. Using all others as your control group, all your worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/the-trouble-with-comparing-yourself-to-others-is-that-there-are-too/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“There will come a time when people decide you've had enough of your grief, and they'll try to take it away from you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/there-will-come-a-time-when-people-decide-you-ve-had-enough-of-your/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“It’s impossible to fail if one doesn’t know how the end should look. And it’s impossible to succeed. But it’s possible to enjoy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/it-s-impossible-to-fail-if-one-doesn-t-know-how-the-end-should-look/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“I tend to forget that my measurement of time is designed to distract me from what's really happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/i-tend-to-forget-that-my-measurement-of-time-is-designed-to-distract/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [My existence shrank from an arrow of light pointing into the future forever to a speck of light that was the present moment. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/my-existence-shrank-from-an-arrow-of-light-pointing-into-the-future/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“Whatever you're feeling, billions already have. Feel for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/whatever-you-re-feeling-billions-already-have-feel-for-them/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“ My friend Isabel says, When you’re writing even a short novel, with at least a couple of subplots, and God only knows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/my-friend-isabel-says-when-you-re-writing-even-a-short-novel-with-at/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [The only thing I've consistently been interested in in the last twenty-five years is writing very short texts. That continues to interest me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/the-only-thing-i-ve-consistently-been-interested-in-in-the-last/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“Like a vase, a heart breaks once. After that, it just yields to its flaws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/like-a-vase-a-heart-breaks-once-after-that-it-just-yields-to-its-flaws/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [“Death will reveal what you otherwise would have finished. Also what you never would have finished. I found the notes for a book a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/death-will-reveal-what-you-otherwise-would-have-finished-also-what/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [Those who claim to write about something larger and more significant than the self sometimes fail to comprehend the dimensions of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/those-who-claim-to-write-about-something-larger-and-more-significant/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [Look at me, dancing my little dance for a few moments against the background of eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/look-at-me-dancing-my-little-dance-for-a-few-moments-against-the/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) > [Chair or no chair: a binary relation. But the vicissitudes of moving the body around are infinite. You never know what a person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/chair-or-no-chair-a-binary-relation-but-the-vicissitudes-of-moving/) [Sarah Manguso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) [Explore all 61 Sarah Manguso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/) ## 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": "“But to pay attention is to love everything.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Manguso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/sarah-manguso-11172_attention_but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everythi_1272428.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/sarah-manguso-11172_attention_but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everythi_1272428.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/sarah-manguso-11172_attention_but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everythi_1272428.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But to pay attention is to love everything.” — Sarah Manguso", "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": "Sarah Manguso", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-manguso/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But to pay attention is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-manguso/but-to-pay-attention-is-to-love-everything/#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 } } ] } ```