--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where is it, this present? It has melted…" description: "\"Where is it, this present? It has melted in our grasp, fled ere we could touch it, gone in the instant of becoming.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/william-james-228_becoming_where-is-it-this-present-it-has-melted-i_2049767.png" --- # Where is it, this present? It has melted in our grasp… ![“Where is it, this present? It has melted in our grasp, fled ere we could touch it, gone in the instant of becoming.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/william-james-228_becoming_where-is-it-this-present-it-has-melted-i_2049767.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/william-james-228_becoming_where-is-it-this-present-it-has-melted-i_2049767.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/william-james-228_becoming_where-is-it-this-present-it-has-melted-i_2049767.png) > “Where is it, this present? It has melted in our grasp, fled ere we could touch it, gone in the instant of becoming.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The present moment slips away before we can fully experience it. **In simple terms:** Now disappears before we can grasp it. Key Takeaway Live mindfully in the present. Themes impermanence mindfulness time Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily routines - meditation - creative work - decision making Key Concepts philosophy psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance present awareness with future planning? - What practices help you stay grounded? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on the present can cause anxiety about the future. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Instant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant/) [Melted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melted/) [Melted Grasp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melted-grasp-3855486/) [Present Melted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-melted-3855487/) [Touch Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch-gone-3855488/) ## Related quotes > [“So close I can almost touch you But then you're gone Like mist around the edge...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/staci-hart/so-close-i-can-almost-touch-you-but-then-you-re-gone-like-mist-around/) [Staci Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/staci-hart/) > [Oh we'll know each other forever, Bix says. The days of losing touch are almost gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/oh-we-ll-know-each-other-forever-bix-says-the-days-of-losing-touch/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Unfortunately, he was about as deep as a melted ice cube.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/unfortunately-he-was-about-as-deep-as-a-melted-ice-cube/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [“It was hard to see where all this could possibly go when it melted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-was-hard-to-see-where-all-this-could-possibly-go-when-it-melted/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [A Broken Trust Can Be Described As Melted Chocolate , No Matter How Hard you Try To Freeze It, It Will Never Returns To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-broken-trust-can-be-described-as-melted-chocolate-no-matter-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do believe it is the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel. 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How can Crush just talking sex make me hot?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-dodd/i-swear-to-god-i-think-my-panties-just-melted-off-my-body-how-can/) [Jillian Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-dodd/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. 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They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. 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A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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