W. Somerset Maugham Quotes

It sometimes seems that we live as if we wonder when life is going to begin. It isn't always clear just what we are waiting for, but some of us sometimes persist in waiting so long that life slips by - finding us still waiting for something that has been going on all the time. . . . This is the life in which the work of this life is to be done. Today is as much a part of eternity as any day a thousand years ago or as will be any day a thousand years hence. This is it, whether we are thrilled or disappointed, busy or bored! This is life, and it is passing.

If we get the good that belongs to us here and now, we must extract the sweetness of each passing minute while it is ours. That is the real art of living in the today.

Every man's life lies within the present; for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain.

Everyone rushes his life on, and suffers from a yearning for the future and a boredom with the present. But that man who devotes every hour to his own needs, who plans every day as if it were his last, neither longs for nor fears tomorrow.

Busy not yourself in looking forward to the events of to-morrow; but whatever may be those of the days Providence may yet assign you neglect not to turn them to advantage.

This moment,which we are living right now will pass too. We have to enjoy, enjoy all that we can.

We spend our lives dreaming of the future, not realizing that a little of it slips away every day.

Make the best of every moment. We're not evolving. We're not going anywhere.

Be always resolute with the present hour. Every moment is of infinite value.

One day all of us will die but - and this is the important thing - we are not dead yet.

We have to realize that our lives could be gone in a moment. There are no guarantees that we will be here at this time next year. Learn to live each day to the fullest. Don't complain. Don't focus on what's wrong. Be grateful for the opportunity to experience each day.

Best to take the moment present as a present for the moment. . .

Drop the question of what tomorrow may bring, and count as profit every day that Fate allows you.

Today is our most precious possession. It is our only sure possession.

There's only one day at a time here, then it's tonight and then tomorrow will be today again.

The right time is always right now.

In any weather, at any hour of the day or night, I have been anxious to improve the nick of time, and notch it on my stick too; to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and future, which is precisely the present moment; to toe that line.

Each day is a precious gift to be savored and used, not left unopened and hoarded for a future that may never come.

Learn that the present hour alone is man's.

Each moment is magical, precious and complete and will never exist again. We forget that now is the moment we are in, that the next one isn't guaranteed. And if we are blessed with another moment, any joy, creativity or wisdom it brings will ensue from the way we live in the present one.

Today is the only time we can possibly live.

Right now a moment of time is passing by!... We must become that moment.

The quality of your moments produces the quality of your life. So, as thoughts come and go and the waves of mind rush on, Carpe punctum-Seize this moment. It deserves your full attention, for it will not pass your way again.