--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who are apparently absent can feel…" description: "\"Those who are apparently absent can feel more present than the people right in front of you.\" — Sylvia Brownrigg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/sylvia-brownrigg-25327_absent_those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel_545552.png" --- # Those who are apparently absent can feel more present than… ![“Those who are apparently absent can feel more present than the people right in front of you.” quote by Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/sylvia-brownrigg-25327_absent_those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel_545552.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/sylvia-brownrigg-25327_absent_those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel_545552.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/sylvia-brownrigg-25327_absent_those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel_545552.png) > “Those who are apparently absent can feel more present than the people right in front of you.” [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who are physically absent can seem more influential than those nearby. **In simple terms:** Absence can amplify perceived importance. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden influences. Themes presence perception influence Mood reflective thoughtful Type social psychological When to use this quote - team meetings - family gatherings - online communities - leadership contexts Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we overvalue absent voices? - How can we balance attention to present contributors? A Different Perspective Physical presence still matters for tangible impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent/) [Absent Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent-feel-3091236/) [Apparently Absent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparently-absent-4551730/) [Feel Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-present-1886672/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fronts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fronts/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Present People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-people-599894/) ## Related quotes > [The absent feel and fear every ill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/the-absent-feel-and-fear-every-ill/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [I really believe in the value of just being more present with the people you're around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-snyder/i-really-believe-in-the-value-of-just-being-more-present-with-the/) [Clayton Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-snyder/) > [One can present people with opportunities. One cannot make them equal to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamond-lehmann/one-can-present-people-with-opportunities-one-cannot-make-them-equal/) [Rosamond Lehmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamond-lehmann/) > [I am a role model now, young people see what I am at present. People look up to me now I am playing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gray/i-am-a-role-model-now-young-people-see-what-i-am-at-present-people/) [Andre Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gray/) > [“If we define the future as a time that looks different from the present, then most people aren’t expecting any future at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-we-define-the-future-as-a-time-that-looks-different-from-the/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [It is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/it-is-the-people-who-figure-out-how-to-work-simply-in-the-present/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-are-a-people-in-a-quandary-about-the-present-we-are-a-people-in/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [I like to present something that the people haven't seen or haven't heard before. Otherwise they might as well just stay home and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/i-like-to-present-something-that-the-people-haven-t-seen-or-haven-t/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [“They're all inside of us,...past people and present people. And probably even the people we'll become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/they-re-all-inside-of-us-past-people-and-present-people-and-probably/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [That's a question you'd have to present to people in the White House.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-poitras/that-s-a-question-you-d-have-to-present-to-people-in-the-white-house/) [Laura Poitras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-poitras/) > [I feel like utopia is neither here nor there. It's in that sort of space where you feel the most present, and that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taraka-larson/i-feel-like-utopia-is-neither-here-nor-there-it-s-in-that-sort-of/) [Taraka Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taraka-larson/) > [If I'm having a challenging moment, I jump for joy. Literally. After a minute, I feel better, and after a few minutes, I'm really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/if-i-m-having-a-challenging-moment-i-jump-for-joy-literally-after-a/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [“The only thing you can change about the past is how you feel about it in the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-dylandy/the-only-thing-you-can-change-about-the-past-is-how-you-feel-about-it/) [Neil Dylandy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-dylandy/) > [“Sometimes they just need the space to feel what they need to feel, with someone present as a reminder that they’re not alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittainy-c-cherry/sometimes-they-just-need-the-space-to-feel-what-they-need-to-feel/) [Brittainy C. Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittainy-c-cherry/) > [“To allow ourselves to be truly in touch with where we already are, no matter where that is, we have got to pause in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/to-allow-ourselves-to-be-truly-in-touch-with-where-we-already-are-no/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) ## More by Sylvia Brownrigg > [“He did not know what it was like to be two women in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/he-did-not-know-what-it-was-like-to-be-two-women-in-love/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [The gap between the inner and outer self is one I've found interesting, even essential, about the way we move through the world. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/the-gap-between-the-inner-and-outer-self-is-one-i-ve-found/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“We will never be together. Sweetheart. I am too brittle, hidden, and snappish, and you are too married. You are altogether too married.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/we-will-never-be-together-sweetheart-i-am-too-brittle-hidden-and/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“He wants me back." The closing punctuation of "obviously" hung in the air. The confidence in her! Anne would always have it: the certainty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/he-wants-me-back-the-closing-punctuation-of-obviously-hung-in-the-air/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“Such nights are possible, and we survive them. It is a matter of sleeping next to the adored body you no longer have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/such-nights-are-possible-and-we-survive-them-it-is-a-matter-of/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“And how easy it was to leave this life, after all - this life that could feel so present and permanent that departing from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/and-how-easy-it-was-to-leave-this-life-after-all-this-life-that-could/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [It could not always be love in the afternoon and passion in the night, gifts given, notes written, meals fed to each other. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/it-could-not-always-be-love-in-the-afternoon-and-passion-in-the-night/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“She'd have to start smoking. There would be no other way through this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/she-d-have-to-start-smoking-there-would-be-no-other-way-through-this/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“I've been called promiscuous. Not a pretty word, is it? Makes you think of the gloop that comes out of your nose or what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/i-ve-been-called-promiscuous-not-a-pretty-word-is-it-makes-you-think/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“The heart did ache, actually. She felt a dull grind of lack somewhere near her diaphragm, a pain that occupied the space of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/the-heart-did-ache-actually-she-felt-a-dull-grind-of-lack-somewhere/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“Flannery had loved Anne truly. And truthfully. She had seen Anne clearly, not covered with the reflective glitter a person acquires if you view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/flannery-had-loved-anne-truly-and-truthfully-she-had-seen-anne/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [No wonder you want to be a writer. How can you not, with all that behind you? You practically are a novel already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/no-wonder-you-want-to-be-a-writer-how-can-you-not-with-all-that/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [This was another item about growing up: you encountered all the cliches of love and loss and heartbreak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/this-was-another-item-about-growing-up-you-encountered-all-the/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“People are cruel, and they will do anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/people-are-cruel-and-they-will-do-anything/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) > [“Flannery never forgot this. Anne Arden, a woman who meant more to Flannery than Flannery felt she could ever have meant to Anne, had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/flannery-never-forgot-this-anne-arden-a-woman-who-meant-more-to/) [Sylvia Brownrigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) [Explore all 23 Sylvia Brownrigg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/) ## More Absent quotes > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [The interesting thing about an absent father is, for a child, you don't know he's absent. You just think he's... tardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-majors/the-interesting-thing-about-an-absent-father-is-for-a-child-you-don-t/) [Jonathan Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-majors/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [... if we are ashamed to imitate our Lord's sufferings, which He endured for us, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/symeon-the-new-theologian/if-we-are-ashamed-to-imitate-our-lord-s-sufferings-which-he-endured/) [Symeon the New Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/symeon-the-new-theologian/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/anger-clearly-has-its-proper-place-at-work-which-is-neither-wholly/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [A FRIEND IS A PERSON . . . With whom you can be sincere. . . . To whom you never need to defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-armand-montapert/a-friend-is-a-person-with-whom-you-can-be-sincere-to-whom-you-never/) [Alfred Armand Montapert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-armand-montapert/) > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) [Browse all 490 Absent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who are apparently absent can feel more present than the people right in front of you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvia Brownrigg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel-more-present-than-the-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel-more-present-than-the-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/sylvia-brownrigg-25327_absent_those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel_545552.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/sylvia-brownrigg-25327_absent_those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel_545552.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/sylvia-brownrigg-25327_absent_those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel_545552.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who are apparently absent can feel more present than the people right in front of you.” — Sylvia Brownrigg", "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": "Sylvia Brownrigg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-brownrigg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who are apparently absent can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel-more-present-than-the-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-brownrigg/those-who-are-apparently-absent-can-feel-more-present-than-the-people/#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 } } ] } ```