--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The past is always - one moment it's what…" description: "\"The past is always - one moment it's what happened three minutes ago, and one minute it's what happened 30 years ago. And they flow into each other in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f7/w-s-merwin-10641_dreams_the-past-is-always-one-moment-it-s-what_2303253.png" --- # The past is always - one moment it's what happened three… ![“The past is always - one moment it's what happened three minutes ago, and one minute it's what happened 30 years ago. And they flow into each other in ways that we can't predict and that we keep discovering in dreams, which keep bringing up feelings and moments, some of which we never actually saw.” quote by W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f7/w-s-merwin-10641_dreams_the-past-is-always-one-moment-it-s-what_2303253.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f7/w-s-merwin-10641_dreams_the-past-is-always-one-moment-it-s-what_2303253.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f7/w-s-merwin-10641_dreams_the-past-is-always-one-moment-it-s-what_2303253.png) > “The past is always - one moment it's what happened three minutes ago, and one minute it's what happened 30 years ago. And they flow into each other in ways that we can't predict and that we keep discovering in dreams, which keep bringing up feelings and moments, some of which we never actually saw.” [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The past shifts between recent and distant memories, blending unpredictably and resurfacing in dreams. **In simple terms:** Past memories blend and appear in dreams. Key Takeaway Embrace fluid memory, explore feelings. Themes memory time dreams Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary introspective When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - personal growth Key Concepts psychology nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate dream memory from reality? - What emotions do these memories evoke? A Different Perspective Dream recollections may distort factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“I was very… forward.” “Discovering those dreams were connected was as much a surprise to me as it was to you.” Her touch felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-savage/i-was-very-forward-discovering-those-dreams-were-connected-was-as/) [Vivienne Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-savage/) > [I've seen death in the past and hope in the future. All I've is a now for I can not see past this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/i-ve-seen-death-in-the-past-and-hope-in-the-future-all-i-ve-is-a-now/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [I think I learned a lot from my past, it's made me become what I am now at this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-ziyech/i-think-i-learned-a-lot-from-my-past-it-s-made-me-become-what-i-am/) [Hakim Ziyech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-ziyech/) > [There is no tomorrow, for no one can see past this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/there-is-no-tomorrow-for-no-one-can-see-past-this-moment/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [The experience of every past moment but belies the faith of each present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-experience-of-every-past-moment-but-belies-the-faith-of-each/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When you don't flow freely with life in the present moment, it usually means that you're holding on to a past moment. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/when-you-don-t-flow-freely-with-life-in-the-present-moment-it-usually/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [“The moment you start owning your past is the moment you start changing your future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-fields/the-moment-you-start-owning-your-past-is-the-moment-you-start/) [L.M. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-fields/) > [This moment - the one you're experiencing right now - is the culmination of all the moments you have experienced in the past. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/this-moment-the-one-you-re-experiencing-right-now-is-the-culmination/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Hang out in the present not the future or the past.Each moment is His gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-malabago/hang-out-in-the-present-not-the-future-or-the-past-each-moment-is-his/) [Regina Malabago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-malabago/) > [So briefly do we raise our heads, so quick sink back. For a moment we are lifted by a wave of time, are tossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-wheelis/so-briefly-do-we-raise-our-heads-so-quick-sink-back-for-a-moment-we/) [Allen Wheelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-wheelis/) > [There's nothing in the future and there's nothing in the past. There is only this one moment, and you've got to make it last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-hitchcock/there-s-nothing-in-the-future-and-there-s-nothing-in-the-past-there/) [Robyn Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-hitchcock/) > [Die to the past every moment. You don't need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present. Feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/die-to-the-past-every-moment-you-don-t-need-it-only-refer-to-it-when/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We cannot overstate our debt to the Past, but the moment has the supreme claim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-cannot-overstate-our-debt-to-the-past-but-the-moment-has-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The very old, he thought, make our past. Once they go it seems for a moment that neither it nor we have any real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-2/the-very-old-he-thought-make-our-past-once-they-go-it-seems-for-a/) [P.D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james-2/) > [How real is any of the past, being every moment revalued to make the present possible...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gaddis/how-real-is-any-of-the-past-being-every-moment-revalued-to-make-the/) [William Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gaddis/) ## More by W. S. Merwin > [When a poem is really finished, you can't change anything. You can't move words around. You can't say, 'In other words, you mean.' No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/when-a-poem-is-really-finished-you-can-t-change-anything-you-can-t/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [We are not born to survive. Only to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/we-are-not-born-to-survive-only-to-live/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [What you remember saves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/what-you-remember-saves-you/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [I also think that life itself is both indifferent to us and the source of all of our joys and everything that we love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/i-also-think-that-life-itself-is-both-indifferent-to-us-and-the/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [I think it's good for anybody to learn languages. Americans are particularly limited in that way. Europeans less so... We're beginning to have Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/i-think-it-s-good-for-anybody-to-learn-languages-americans-are/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [You have to be rather relentless about pushing other things out of the way. 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Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [What I really believe is the only hopeful relation between our life and the whole of life is one of reverence and respect and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/what-i-really-believe-is-the-only-hopeful-relation-between-our-life/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [As soon as I could write with a little pencil, I was writing these little hymns and illustrating them, and I thought they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/as-soon-as-i-could-write-with-a-little-pencil-i-was-writing-these/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [There are aspects of human life that are not purely destructive, and there is a need to pay attention to the things around us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/there-are-aspects-of-human-life-that-are-not-purely-destructive-and/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [If there'd been a better-balanced society, where there were other ways of making a decent living, I think it might have been different. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/if-there-d-been-a-better-balanced-society-where-there-were-other-ways/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [We are the shadow of Sirius. There is the other side of - as we talk to each other, we see the light, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/we-are-the-shadow-of-sirius-there-is-the-other-side-of-as-we-talk-to/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [Any work of art makes one very simple demand on anyone who genuinely wants to get in touch with it. And that is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/any-work-of-art-makes-one-very-simple-demand-on-anyone-who-genuinely/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) [Explore all 64 W. S. Merwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The past is always - one moment it's what happened three minutes ago, and one minute it's what happened 30 years ago. And they flow into each other in ways that we can't predict and that we keep discovering in dreams, which keep bringing up feelings and moments, some of which we never actually saw.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. S. 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