Quotes About Presence

When was the last time you looked at anything, solely, and concentratedly, and for its own sake? Ordinary life passes in a near blur. If we go to the theatre or the cinema, the images before us change constantly, and there is the distraction of language. Our loved ones are so well known to us that there is no need to look at them, and one of the gentle jokes of married life is that we do not.

All these words, written so long ago, seemed to say to her, Remember us. We were here. We were real.

The rhythm of his steps said, Happy to be here, happy to be here. Rays of sunlight shot between the clouds, making spots of light like polka dots on the ground.

You're just going to bear witness to his life. I think sometimes that's the greatest gift we can give one another.

I am myself and I am here.

Don't be afraid; I'll keep looking at you for ever and ever, without a flutter of my eyelids, and you'll live in my gaze like a mote in a sunbeam.

To exist is simply to he there; those who exist let themselves be encountered, but you can never deduce anything from them.

Mais comme mes regards tombaient sur le bloc de feuilles blanches, je fus saisi par son aspect et je restai, la plume en l'air, à contempler ce papier éblouissant : comme il était dur et voyant, comme il était présent. Il n'y avait rien en lui que du présent. Les lettres que je venais d'y tracer n'étaient pas encore sèches et déjà elles ne m'appartenaient plus.

Le vieillard: Maintenant... vous voyez aussi les morts. Pierre: Comment les distingue-t-on des vivants? Le vieillard: C'est bien simple: les vivants, eux, sonts toujours pressés.

The flesh is the pure contingency of presence.

I do not cease to experience my being-for-others; my possibilities do not cease to "die", nor do the distances cease to unfold toward me in terms of the stairway where somebody "could" be, in terms of this dark corner where a human presence "could" hide. Better yet, if I tremble at the slightest noise, if each creak announces to me a look, this is because I am already in the state of being-looked-at.

To forget about the others? How utterly absurd! I feel you there, in every pore. Your silence clamors in my ears. You can nail up your mouth, cut your tongue out - but you can't prevent your being there.

Everywhere, now, there are objects like this glass of beer on the table there. When I see it, I feel like saying: "Enough." I realize quite well that I have

por definición, la existencia no es la necesidad. Existir es estar ahí, simplemente; los existentes aparecen.

When I model, I pretty much blank. You can't think too much or it doesn't work.

God goes to work with you and does the laundry with you too. There's no place that God is not.

It's always fun when you're doing the CGI stuff, to actually get to work with someone who is real, who's there.

Police officers and firemen are so visible in their daily work, there's no mistaking they're there - and that presence makes people feel secure.

In daily terms, the work of listening is to be constantly worn free of our preconceptions and preferences so that nothing stands in the way of our direct experience of life.

I definitely work pretty hard to stay present and focused. I've also tried to create a life for myself where I'm surrounded by honest, loyal, and funny people, because I like to laugh.

Earth tries to work sorcery on us, saying Tomorrow, Tomorrow, but we outwit that spell by enjoying this now.

Distraction wastes our energy, concentration restores it.

It's fun to watch a true-blue movie star at work. They're really unbelievably charismatic. They understand camera angles.

Fourth, come home from work and take an active role with your family. Don't put work, friends, or sports ahead of listening to, playing with, and teaching your children.