Musings on Some Inspirational Quotes about the Past, Present, and Future (Part I)

Now on to the topic of this article. I will be going over some quotes I pinned on my Pinterest boards about the importance of leaving the past behind and living in the present, of freeing yourself from the past in order to create a future that suits you better.

While I agree that some things of the past are better left alone, I am a person who always finds strength in the past. I find the past to be a source of nourishment and inspiration. It also defines who I am. The question becomes trickier here, given that existence defines much of the essence continually, sometimes confirming what you know about yourself, while at other times making you face things about yourself that you have to reconcile with your old self. But that doesn't mean that my looking back is counterproductive: on the contrary, I think that reconciling the past you with the present you is quite a fruitful exercise, one that feeds your being.

So the question is not as easy to me as some of the motivational quotes I found on Pinterest make it sound, but it's fun reading those statements because some of them ring so true, and do invite reflection better than others.

Here are some of my favorite quotes about the past, present, and future from Pinterest. Which doesn't mean that I agree with them wholeheartedly. Life is more complicated than single-minded statements.

NB: The quote images you see in this article are my own. Some I made with image quote generators, and others with my own photos or free images from Pixabay. The texts are freely circulating on the Internet. Where they were attributed to someone, I preserved that attribution.

Many of the quote images I pinned on Pinterest look much better. They're great graphic experiments, with great typographic play and backgrounds. I meant to use those, especially as they were meant to be spread over the Web, but ended up playing with these quotes myself.

Don't give up what you want most, for what you want now.

One user commented "Right. Or is it?" Good question. Sometimes even what you want most can wait, because the present is really good. Sometimes the present is so good, that you even forget what you wanted most.

Don't stumble over something behind you.

Tripping over your past can be a bad experience. But often you need to go through it in order to make the next trip better. So I guess as long as you don't turn it into a habit, it's fine.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

This one is attributed to Dalai Lama. We can assume that the current one, the 14^th Dalai Lama, but even so, there are so many statements attributed to him, that we might never know. In any event, it does sound very Buddhist, and the 14^th Dalai Lama did say "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."

Wherever you are, be all there.

This one is attributed to Christian missionary Jim Elliot. I like this idea. It's a great way to say "live in the moment." We're often tugged away from being all there by the many tides of life, as well as by all sorts of emotions and desires. So be all there, wherever you are. That kind of awareness will help both you and others, so it's a good way to live. Now, it might not be feasible all the time, since we often live with a foot in the past and one in the future, working away to make things happen, but every once in a while, if nothing else, it's a much needed exercise.

As a side note, Jim Elliot continued this idea with "Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."

I love this one. This one is (part of) me. Only I'm not very good at being me sometimes because I haven't yet learned how to do what I love for work and have money to both eat well and travel often.

Don't tell people your dreams. Show them.

I think this is good advice. People often can't understand your dreams even when you show them what you've done and are doing. Imagine how baffled they must be when you're presenting them with words only.

I hope you've enjoyed these quotes. Part II to follow.