Quotessence
Home / Authors / Eric Overby

Eric Overby Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllNote To SelfPoetryConversationThe County LineHaikuLife And LivingMeditation QuotesBereavement LossCommunityImpermanenceInfertility QuotesJourneyLove PoemsMindfulness QuotesSocial MediaChangeDeath And DyingHaiku On LoveLetting GoLife Lessons

Famous Eric Overby Quotes

“A creation myth lays the foundation for how you got here, where you came from, and what your role is now that you’re here. Depending on the civilization and myth, it can tell you who’s in charge and what they value. There’s something interesting about the power of narrative. How can a story from so long ago influence so many people for so long?”

StoriesPowerMythNarrativePower Of WordsAnthropologyNote To SelfCreation MythsIdeas And StoriesMyth As Narrative
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“Our lives are constantly in a state of change and evolution. The things that cause you to identify as “you” are temporary, moving foundations. “You” were once just a mere collection of microscopic cells. Then you were a baby, and then a teenager, and so on. I am not the person that I was at 5, 16, or 24 years old (I am so thankful for this). Your attitudes will change; your beliefs will change; your clothes will change; your hair will change; your jobs will change. Everything will change!”

ChangeIdentityImpermanenceNote To SelfIdentifyChange Is ConstantGrowing QuotesWho Are You ReallyWho Am I Quotes
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“Your mind is this way, open and still. Along comes a thought into the horizon. We rarely stand still long enough to see our thoughts and watch it arise and disappear. We are often so lost in the cloud of thoughts that we don’t have the separation to see them. We think we are them. Yet, it is possible to sit and watch a thought in the same way.”

MindMindfulnessMeditation QuotesThoughts QuotesNote To SelfStillness QuotesWatching Your MindYou Are Not Your Thoughts
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“The early Christians took this story and used it as the backdrop for the doctrine of ‘The Trinity.’ For me, though, this myth has nothing to do with the belief in the father, son, and holy spirit. Rublev’s hospitality icon is important to me because by receiving the three strangers, Abraham and Sarah further their own narrative. The story of the strangers gets intertwined with Abraham and Sarah and they learn something new about themselves. This icon is a reminder to me to be welcoming and hospitable to strangers. It helps me remember that every stranger has a story. I kept this myth in mind, when a group of young Mormons came walking down the street and knocked on my door. I offered for them to come in and eat. Did I become Mormon? No. I did have them over three times to understand them and learn what it was like to be Mormon and to be them personally. Does this mean that you should let every stranger in your house because it says that Abraham did? No, definitely do not do that. Just like I get to choose what to get out of a myth, I get to choose when to apply it. I am admittedly a nerd and like to discuss beliefs and theology. I like to learn about people and different ways to think and live. This comes with an openness to new people in certain situations. Being open and hospitable to new people and ideas can help you understand yourself and other people. It can further your narrative and expand your viewpoints.”

OpennessHospitalityNote To SelfLearning From OthersMormonsOpenmindedHearing OthersUnderstanding Other PeopleAbraham And SarahStories Worth Keeping
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“It is possible to sit still and watch your thoughts arise and then, without grabbing them, watch them disappear. This is the practice of meditation and mindfulness, a practice that you learn to carry with you. The goal isn’t to stop thoughts. Instead, the goal is the practice of seeing them clearly as they come into view and then letting them go. If you can notice anger or anxiety arising at the ground level, in its first inception, then you can easily watch it dissolve. In these instances, it is present sight, not hindsight, that is 20/20.”

Meditation QuotesHindsightNote To SelfSitting StillStillness QuotesMindful QuotesBeing HereWatching Your MindSeeing Clearly Quotes
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“We live in a world of ghosts. We are all half present for most of our day. I constantly catch myself walking while looking at an iPhone. When I drive to work in the morning, I find myself lost in thought or needing the noise of the radio or an audiobook. We sit in a room of people that we love, while we all live in a half-present, hypnotized state of social media consciousness.”

Social MediaSocial Media AddictionNote To SelfPresence QuotesA World Of GhostsHalf PresentIphone AddictionPaying Attention To Your PresentScreen Addiction
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“It seems that we are distracted because we are always in search of something better. We always want to see a different place or a different person’s life, as ours passes us by. We don’t pay attention to our own lives, therefore we want someone else’s. In a way, this is the definition of our social media feed. I want your life; please ‘like’ mine and tell me that it’s good enough. The thing is, most of us live the life that we are searching for. We just aren’t aware enough to see it. We are half present, therefore half appreciative, and our relationships suffer because of it.”

Something NewSocial Media QuotesLooking For LoveNote To SelfSearching For HappinessYou Are EnoughDiscontentmentScrollingA World Of GhostsInstagram And Facebook Quotes
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“I’m growing to believe that I shouldn’t have an opinion on some things or at least shouldn’t have an opinion that people listen to. When asked about some of the current hot issues of the day, I have grown OK with saying, “It’s complicated, I haven’t really looked into it enough.” I don’t have to, and will never, know about everything. In order to really understand most things, it takes a lot of research.”

Politics QuotesLearning QuotesNuanceNote To SelfComplex SystemsFacts QuotesOpinion QuotesIt S ComplicatedFake News QuotesHumbleness Quotes
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“No matter where you live, we are all in the membership of this small group of people that we call a county. The difference is not a matter of who’s in and who’s out; it’s a matter of whether you know that you are a continuation of something bigger than yourself. We are all a part of the life and history of the place.”

CommunityNote To SelfGathering TogetherLocal HistoryThe County LineMain Street UsaSmall Town QuotesLocal MembershipState FairThe Membership
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“There’s something special about visiting a graveyard. Both life and death meet together in time. We see the members of a community and a lineage that, while not always perfect, are a part of us all. In remembering, we re-member ourselves together as members of each other, as the inheritance of people that we did not know, connected together, even beyond time.”

Note To SelfRemembering The PastRemember QuotesRemembering Loved OnesFuneral QuotesMemorial Day QuotesGraveyard QuotesRemembering QuoteMembers Of Each Other
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“If you knew that you would die in 14 days, what would you do? What about a year? What about 25 years? My guess is, in each circumstance, that everyone would miss as much of their life as they do now. If you are in a habit of mindlessly putting your pennies into the slot machine, you will do it until your pockets are empty. This is why paying attention is so important.”

Note To SelfDeath And LoveLose YourselfMissing LifeTime And AttentionAttention Quotes Pay AttentionPresence And Mindfulness Quotes
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“I am constantly reflecting back on how I’ve done things and how those things have turned out. I like to think about the cause and effect of my decisions and the way that I have lived. Therefore, I am constantly assessing and evolving. It has been important to look back and say, “This caused that, so don’t do that again.” Or, “This is helping move you forward in a nice trajectory; keep that up.”

ReflectionLooking BackNote To SelfMeditationsEvolution QuotesEvolving Quotes
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“Your mind is all that you have. It is what you carry with you everywhere that you go. All that you do is preceded by your mind and arises in your mind. This does not mean that you are the thoughts that you have. Thoughts are what your mind is aware of. They are commentary on what has happened, is happening, will happen, and (most likely) will never happen.”

Mindful LivingThoughts Of The MindNote To SelfThinking Too MuchOverthinking QuotesLost In ThoughtsLost In The Clouds
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“If you find yourself in a funk or feeling unmotivated with life, make a small goal. Start with a small area of chaos in your life. Make a short list of two or three things and check them off. This may help you feel like you are progressing. Wash the dishes, clean the closet, sweep the porch, organize your food pantry, or clean out your car. You don’t need to go out and run a marathon. Instead, set a smaller goal. Walk 5,000 or 10,000 steps. In order to do that, you must start with one.”

MotivationOne Step At A TimeNote To SelfSmall GoalsProductive QuotesChecking BoxesList MakerMaking ListsSetting Goals QuotesSmall Habits
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“Seeing the cause and effect of how you’ve raised your older children is helpful in considering how to raise the next. There are things that I have learned, through stumbling in the darkness of youth and inexperience, that have (hopefully) helped me prepare for this next chapter. There are errors that were made and versions of myself that this child will not have to live through. There are things worth keeping and resurrecting.”

ParenthoodParenting QuotesRaising KidsNote To SelfEvolving QuotesRaising Children QuotesLearning From Your Past
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“The problem is that we identify ourselves with the thoughts that pass over like clouds. We grab hold of the thoughts and replay it over and over and over until we think it is us. We replay conversations we’ve had and hypothetical conversations we wish we’d had. We even think of future things that we want to say to someone. We are just a step away from internally sounding like a schizophrenic on the street. We just know that we shouldn’t say all the things that we think.”

Identity CrisisNote To SelfIdentity QuotesThinking Too MuchIdentifySeeing YourselfTalking To YourselfLost And ConfusedLost In The Clouds
Author:Eric Overby
Create image

“Whats’s the way forward? Looking back and wishing things were different will not get you there. Alternate paths, alternate choices, and alternate lives are just thoughts. They are mirages that keep you from realizing the fact that this life, in this moment, is what you have. So what are you going to do now?”

Moving On And Letting GoNote To SelfThe PathMove Forward QuotesFinding Your Way In LifeNo Alternative PathsWhat Are You Going To Do Now
Author:Eric Overby
Create image