--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Much thought has at its root a…" description: "\"Much thought has at its root a dissatisfaction with what is. Wanting is the urge for the next moment to contain what this moment does not. When there i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/stephen-levine-6949_completeness_much-thought-has-at-its-root-a-dissatisf_1972107.png" --- # Much thought has at its root a dissatisfaction with what… ![“Much thought has at its root a dissatisfaction with what is. Wanting is the urge for the next moment to contain what this moment does not. When there is wanting in the mind, that moment feels incomplete. Wanting is seeing elsewhere. Completeness is being right here.” quote by Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/stephen-levine-6949_completeness_much-thought-has-at-its-root-a-dissatisf_1972107.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/stephen-levine-6949_completeness_much-thought-has-at-its-root-a-dissatisf_1972107.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/stephen-levine-6949_completeness_much-thought-has-at-its-root-a-dissatisf_1972107.png) > “Much thought has at its root a dissatisfaction with what is. Wanting is the urge for the next moment to contain what this moment does not. When there is wanting in the mind, that moment feels incomplete. Wanting is seeing elsewhere. Completeness is being right here.” [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire creates a sense of lack; true fulfillment comes from being present in the current moment. **In simple terms:** Wanting makes us feel incomplete; being present feels whole. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness to reduce constant yearning. Themes desire presence contentment Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - goal setting - relationships - creative work Key Concepts mindfulness psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does “being right here” mean to you? - How can you balance ambition with present‑moment awareness? A Different Perspective Constant wanting can lead to chronic dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Completeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/completeness/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Dissatisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissatisfaction/) [Dissatisfaction Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissatisfaction-wanting-3316763/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Does Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-wanting-3193598/) [Elsewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elsewhere/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Incomplete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incomplete/) [Incomplete Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incomplete-wanting-3316761/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Positive thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-thinking/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [That moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/that-moment/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Urges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urges/) [Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting/) [Wanting Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-mind-3316762/) ## Related quotes > [“Having more does not keep you from wanting more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/have-a-little-faith-mitch-albom-reb/having-more-does-not-keep-you-from-wanting-more/) [Have a little Faith) - Mitch Albom Reb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/have-a-little-faith-mitch-albom-reb/) > [“Does wanting to die equal losing your mind?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/does-wanting-to-die-equal-losing-your-mind/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [The degree of blessing enjoyed by any man will correspond exactly with the completeness of God's victory over him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-degree-of-blessing-enjoyed-by-any-man-will-correspond-exactly/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Power is being able to say complete and utter nonsense and have it be believed, powerlessness is where no matter how much cogent evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/power-is-being-able-to-say-complete-and-utter-nonsense-and-have-it-be/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [But the 'project of me' can never be enough, for it does not meet 'the other,' and real living involves meeting. The touch and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-jarow/but-the-project-of-me-can-never-be-enough-for-it-does-not-meet-the/) [Rick Jarow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-jarow/) > [“In order for completeness first hand most people have to live with the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/in-order-for-completeness-first-hand-most-people-have-to-live-with/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [Through true love, you touch inner completeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/through-true-love-you-touch-inner-completeness/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Nearly everybody nowadays accepts the 'causal completeness of physics' - every physical event (or at least its probability) has a full physical cause. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-papineau/nearly-everybody-nowadays-accepts-the-causal-completeness-of-physics/) [David Papineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-papineau/) > [When we are young, we spend much time and pains in filling our note-books with all definitions of Religion, Love, Poetry, Politics, Art, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-we-are-young-we-spend-much-time-and-pains-in-filling-our-note/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Death not merely ends life, it also bestows upon it a silent completeness, snatched from the hazardous flux to which all things human are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/death-not-merely-ends-life-it-also-bestows-upon-it-a-silent/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Life calls, not for perfection, but for completeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/life-calls-not-for-perfection-but-for-completeness/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [You find this curious fact, that the more intense has been the religion of any period and more profound has been the dogmatic belief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/you-find-this-curious-fact-that-the-more-intense-has-been-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The smallest task, well done, becomes a miracle of achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/the-smallest-task-well-done-becomes-a-miracle-of-achievement/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [God's power under us, in us, surging through us, is exactly what turns dependence into unforgettable experiences of completeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-wilkinson/god-s-power-under-us-in-us-surging-through-us-is-exactly-what-turns/) [Bruce Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-wilkinson/) > [“Complete - Yourself! Others may only enhance your completeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lashauna-d-hinton/complete-yourself-others-may-only-enhance-your-completeness/) [Lashauna D. Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lashauna-d-hinton/) ## More by Stephen Levine > [ “\[T\]hose who insist they've got their 'shit together' are usually standing in it at the time. (16)” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/t-hose-who-insist-they-ve-got-their-shit-together-are-usually/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [“When you can accept discomfort, doing so allows a balance of mind. That surrender, that letting go of wanting anything to be other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/when-you-can-accept-discomfort-doing-so-allows-a-balance-of-mind-that/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Forgiveness is mental floss! Build the capacity to forgive slowly - start with little unkind acts, otherwise you'll sabotage yourself. When we forgive, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/forgiveness-is-mental-floss-build-the-capacity-to-forgive-slowly/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-healing-it-is-to-enter-with-mercy/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-you-were-going-to-die-soon-and-had-only-one-phone-call-you-could/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Relate to the fear, not just from it. (50)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/relate-to-the-fear-not-just-from-it-50/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Love is not what we become, but what we already are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/love-is-not-what-we-become-but-what-we-already-are/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [...healing comes not from being loving but from being itself. It is not a case of being clear but of clear being. This healing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/healing-comes-not-from-being-loving-but-from-being-itself-it-is-not-a/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [If you want the other person more than anything else in the world, you're in major trouble and the relationship is a wobbly pivot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-you-want-the-other-person-more-than-anything-else-in-the-world-you/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Letting the last breath come. Letting the last breath go. Dissolving, dissolving into vast space, the light body released from its heavier form. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/letting-the-last-breath-come-letting-the-last-breath-go-dissolving/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [“A drop of pond water under the microscope just like in science class but now your are the pond & the microscope is mindfulness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/a-drop-of-pond-water-under-the-microscope-just-like-in-science-class/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [If sequestered pain made a sound, the atmosphere would be humming all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-sequestered-pain-made-a-sound-the-atmosphere-would-be-humming-all/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [In all serious disease states we find a concomitant low oxygen state... Low oxygen in the body tissues is a sure indicator for disease...Hypoxia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/in-all-serious-disease-states-we-find-a-concomitant-low-oxygen-state/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Clearly, all fear has an element of resistance and a leaning away from the moment. Its dynamic is not unlike that of strong desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/clearly-all-fear-has-an-element-of-resistance-and-a-leaning-away-from/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [The saddest part about being human is not paying attention. Presence is the gift of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/the-saddest-part-about-being-human-is-not-paying-attention-presence/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) [Explore all 96 Stephen Levine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) ## More Completeness quotes > [“Complete - Yourself! Others may only enhance your completeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lashauna-d-hinton/complete-yourself-others-may-only-enhance-your-completeness/) [Lashauna D. Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lashauna-d-hinton/) > [God's power under us, in us, surging through us, is exactly what turns dependence into unforgettable experiences of completeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-wilkinson/god-s-power-under-us-in-us-surging-through-us-is-exactly-what-turns/) [Bruce Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-wilkinson/) > [The smallest task, well done, becomes a miracle of achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/the-smallest-task-well-done-becomes-a-miracle-of-achievement/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [You find this curious fact, that the more intense has been the religion of any period and more profound has been the dogmatic belief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/you-find-this-curious-fact-that-the-more-intense-has-been-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Life calls, not for perfection, but for completeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/life-calls-not-for-perfection-but-for-completeness/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Death not merely ends life, it also bestows upon it a silent completeness, snatched from the hazardous flux to which all things human are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/death-not-merely-ends-life-it-also-bestows-upon-it-a-silent/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [When we are young, we spend much time and pains in filling our note-books with all definitions of Religion, Love, Poetry, Politics, Art, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-we-are-young-we-spend-much-time-and-pains-in-filling-our-note/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nearly everybody nowadays accepts the 'causal completeness of physics' - every physical event (or at least its probability) has a full physical cause. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-papineau/nearly-everybody-nowadays-accepts-the-causal-completeness-of-physics/) [David Papineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-papineau/) > [Through true love, you touch inner completeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/through-true-love-you-touch-inner-completeness/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“In order for completeness first hand most people have to live with the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/in-order-for-completeness-first-hand-most-people-have-to-live-with/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [But the 'project of me' can never be enough, for it does not meet 'the other,' and real living involves meeting. The touch and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-jarow/but-the-project-of-me-can-never-be-enough-for-it-does-not-meet-the/) [Rick Jarow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-jarow/) > [Power is being able to say complete and utter nonsense and have it be believed, powerlessness is where no matter how much cogent evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/power-is-being-able-to-say-complete-and-utter-nonsense-and-have-it-be/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [The degree of blessing enjoyed by any man will correspond exactly with the completeness of God's victory over him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-degree-of-blessing-enjoyed-by-any-man-will-correspond-exactly/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [What's my philosophy? In a word, integral. And what on earth — or in heaven — do I mean by integral? The dictionary meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/what-s-my-philosophy-in-a-word-integral-and-what-on-earth-or-in/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [We can only save ourselves through elevating our individual consciousness, by realizing there is already completeness within, and exercising as much considerate independence, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-can-only-save-ourselves-through-elevating-our-individual/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 148 Completeness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/completeness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Much thought has at its root a dissatisfaction with what is. Wanting is the urge for the next moment to contain what this moment does not. When there is wanting in the mind, that moment feels incomplete. Wanting is seeing elsewhere. 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