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Past Quotes

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Past Quotes

“I don’t think we ever really live in the present; instead, we’re either just this side of the past or future, wavering anxiously between anticipation and recollection. That’s where I lived my life, always wanting, longing, wishing.”

Thinking Past Wish Sides Longing Anticipation Recollection Live In The Present Wavering

Book:Losing Julia

Source: Losing Julia

“Had history been democratic in its ways, there would have been no farming and no indsturial revolution. Both leaps into the future were occasioned by unbearably painful crises that made most people wish they could recoil into the past.”

People Way Has Beens Made Past Wish Revolution Crisis Democratic Painful Leap Farming Industrial Revolution Recoil

Book:The Global Minotaur: America, Europe and the Future of the Global Economy

Source: The Global Minotaur: America, Europe and the Future of the Global Economy

“And lastly, Chairman Khrushchev has compared the United States to a worn-out runner living on its past performance, and stated that the Soviet Union would out-produce the United States by 1970. Without wishing to trade hyperbole with the Chairman, I do suggest that he reminds me of the tiger hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger's skin long before he his caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas.”

Long Ideas States Past Wish United United States Produce Wall Skins Performances Trade Unions Caught Soviet Worn Runners Tigers Hunters Soviet Union Chairman Living On Worn Out Hyperbole

Author:John F. Kennedy

“Modern" poetry is, essentially, an extension of romanticism; it is what romantic poetry wishes or finds it necessary to become. It is the end product of romanticism, all past and no future; it is impossible to go further by any extrapolation of the process by which we have arrived, and certainly it is impossible to remain where we are who could endure a century of transition ?”

Ends Past Wish Process Impossible Modern Century Products Endure Poetry Is Transition Extensions Romanticism Romantic Poetry Modern Poetry

Author:Randall Jarrell

“To be sure, the ancient belief that the dream reveals the future is not entirely devoid of truth. By representing to us a wish as fulfilled the dream certainly leads us into the future; but this future, taken by the dreamer as present, has been formed into the likeness of that past by the indestructible wish.”

Has Beens Dream Past Belief Wish Taken Ancient Dreamer Fulfilled Representing Indestructible

Book:THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS - The Royal Road to the Unconscious: Rules of Dream Interpretation: The Dream as a Fulfillment of a Wish, Distortion in Dreams, The Method of Dream Interpretation, The Sources of Dreams & The Psychology of the Dream Activities

Source: THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS - The Royal Road to the Unconscious: Rules of Dream Interpretation: The Dream as a Fulfillment of a Wish, Distortion in Dreams, The Method of Dream Interpretation, The Sources of Dreams & The Psychology of the Dream Activities

“There are very few things in the mind which eat up as much energy as worry. It is one of the most difficult things not to worry about anything. Worry is experienced when things go wrong, but in relation to past happenings it is idle merely to wish that they might have been otherwise. The frozen past is what it is, and no amount of worrying is going to make it other than what it has been. But the limited ego-mind identifies itself with its past, gets entangled with it and keeps alive the pangs of frustrated desires.”

Mind Has Beens Might Past Desire Energy Wish Difficult Worry Alive Amount Ego Happenings Relation Frustrated Idle Frozen Might Have Been Difficult Things When Things Go Wrong

Author:Meher Baba

“I have a lot of -- I struggle with a lot of shame over my past. There have been times when I've been incredibly embarrassed about the things that happened to me. I don't think that there is one human being in this world that would wish, you know, to be injured as a kid the way -- in ways that I was.”

Thinking Knows World Way Humans Has Beens Kids Past Wish Human Beings Struggle Happened This World Shame Embarrassed Injured Wish You My Past

Author:Traci Lords

“Be satisfied, and pleased with what thou art, Act cheerfully and well thou allotted part; Enjoy the present hour, be thankful for the past, And neither fear, nor wish, the approaches of the last.”

Wells Art Lasts Past Wish Enjoy Hours Approach Satisfied Being Thankful

Author:Martial

“Enjoy the present hour, be mindful of the past; And neither fear nor wish the Approaches of the last. Learn of the skillful: He that teaches himself, hath a fool for his master.”

Lasts Past Wish Enjoy Hours Teach Masters Fool Approach Skillful

Book:Poor Richard's Almanack

Source: Poor Richard's Almanack

“How readily we wish time spent revoked, that we might try the ground again where once--through inexperience, as we now perceive--we missed that happiness we might have found!”

Trying Might Past Found Wish Perceive Time Spent Inexperience

Book:The poetical works of William Cowper, ed: with notes and biographical introd. by William Benham

Source: The poetical works of William Cowper, ed: with notes and biographical introd. by William Benham

“Laura Alicia Deverell was born on May 10th, 1862, at precisely a quarter past one o'clock on a Thursday morning. Those interested in that pseudo-science astrology or astromancy may trace her life and character, if they wish, among the stars, where no doubt it is all written.”

Ifs May Book Character Past Wish Stars Born Morning Doubt Written Clock No Doubt Quarters Astrology Pseudo Thursday Laura

Author:Susan Ertz

“It is always the sign of the second-rate man when the decision merely meets the present situation. It is the left-over in a decision which gives it its greatest value. It is the carry-over in the decision which helps develop the situation in the way we wish it to be developed. The ablest administrators do not merely draw logical conclusions from the array of facts of the past which their expert assistants bring to them; they have a vision of the future.”

Source: Dynamic administration: the collected papers of Mary Parker Follett

“We realize that by criticizing Jewish fundamentalism we are criticizing a part of the past that we love. We wish that members of every human grouping would criticize their own past, even before criticizing others.”

Humans Past Wish Realizing Members Criticize Fundamentalism Criticizing Others

Author:Israel Shahak

“We all reconstruct our past because we wish to see how our present came to be our present - do we not?”

Past Wish Our Past

Book:City of Stairs

Source: City of Stairs

“With photography a new language has been created. Now for the first time it is possible to express reality by reality. We can look at an impression as long as we wish, we can delve into it and, so to speak, renew past experiences at will.”

Firsts Looks Long Has Beens Reality Past Speak Language Wish Photography First Time Impression Past Experiences

Author:Ernst Haas

“The past is like a handful of dust. It filters through your fingers, disappearing little by little. I wish, for one day, I could go back. In another life I would do things differently.”

Littles Past Wish One Day Fingers Disappear Dust Handful Filters Another Life

Author:Katy Perry

“My philosophy on life is that we're here to love and to learn. And I've learned a lot, so I can't say "I wish this didn't happen or I didn't make that movie." And I take responsibility for being open [about relationships] in the past. I have to, and now I'm doing what I can to make it different.”

I Can Different Philosophy Happens Past Life Is Wish Responsibility Life Philosophy I've Learned Taking Responsibility

Author:Jennifer Lopez

“Ressentiment is always to some degree a determinant of the romantic type of mind. At least this is so when the romantic nostalgia for some past era (Hellas, the Middle Ages, etc.) is not primarily based on the values of that period, but on the wish to escape from the present. Then all praise of the “past” has the implied purpose of downgrading present-day reality.”

Mind Reality Age Past Purpose Values Wish Middle Type Periods Degrees Praise Nostalgia Eras Etc Middle Ages Present Day Implied Downgrading

Book:On Feeling, Knowing, and Valuing: Selected Writings

Source: On Feeling, Knowing, and Valuing: Selected Writings

“People say they wish they were Michael Jordan. OK, do it for a year. Do it for two years. Do it for five years. When you get past the fun part, then go do the part where you get into cities at three a.m. and you have fifteen people waiting for autographs when you're as tired as hell.”

People Years Two Past Three Fun Wish Waiting Cities Hell Five Tired Five Years Two Years Fifteen Jordan Autographs

Author:Michael Jordan

“... in nine out of ten cases the original wish to write is the wish to make oneself felt[ellipsis in source] the non-essential writer never gets past that wish.”

Writing Past Wish Felt Cases Source Ten Essentials Originals Oneself Nine

Author:Elizabeth Bowen