Hannah Arendt Quotes

Only the thinking man lives his life, the thoughtless man's life passes him by.

They only babble who practise not reflection.

For me, writing is a way of thinking. I write in a journal a lot. I'm a very impatient person, so writing and meditation allow me to slow down and watch my mind; they are containers that keep me in place, hold me still.

In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate.

Never be afraid to sit a while and think.

I don't really look back or forward too much. That's not to say I live in the moment, because I struggle with that as well.

We have everything we need, in fact, except the most important thing of all — time to think and the habit of thought.

Quiet time and solitude are vital to helping me keep perspective. I consider myself fortunate to have so much quiet built into my profession. I spend long hours by myself at my easel. And while I work, I think-of the future, of my loved ones, of God's goodness and the many exciting opportunities that surround me. I ponder the challenges I face, the needs of others, the direction my life is going.

Every thought is an afterthought.

Mirrors should think longer before they reflect.

Most persons who indulge in second thought don't do much thinking when the subject is presented for first thought.

I think it's always important to reflect anyway, no matter what age you're approaching or what milestone is in front of you. Reflection should be almost a daily thing if possible.

Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all.

I have never had time for the idea of searching. Whenever I wanted to express something, I did so without thinking of the past or the future.

Some people observe life naturally and sometimes you just have to let things out and think about it later.

Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.

To understand our own thinking is to understand all thinking.

To meditate is to labour; to think is to act.

Think about these once in awhile, and watch your answers change.

Watch the things you say you can't believe, and then recall the things you accept without thinking, like your own existence.

We are not conscious of most things until we ask ourselves questions about them.

There may be men who act without understanding why. I do not. To listen much, pick out the good and follow it; to see much and ponder it: this comes next to understanding.

Before you ask more questions, think about whether you really want to know the answers.

How can anyone become a thinker unless he spends at least a third of every day away from passions, people, and books?

All too often, when it comes to our own minds, we are surprisingly mindless. We sail on, blithely unaware of how much we are missing, of how little we grasp of our own thought process - and how much better we could be if only we'd taken the time to understand and to reflect.