We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.
David SuzukiRead
The future doesn't exist. The only thing that exists is now and our memory of what happened in the past. But because we invented the idea of a future, we're the only animal that realized we can affect the future by what we do today.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The future is a construct of our imagination; we can only act in the present to shape what is to come.
David Suzuki's quote emphasizes the importance of the present moment and our memories of the past. He suggests that while the concept of the future is an invention of human thought, it empowers us to take actions in the present that can influence the outcomes of what lies ahead. This perspective encourages mindfulness and responsibility in how we live today.
Themes
FuturePresentMemoryActionMindfulness
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech, when encouraging people to focus on their actions today to achieve their long-term goals.
More from David Suzuki
All quotes →As parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts we need to start getting out into nature with the young people in our lives. Families play a key role in getting kids outside.
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One of the joys of being a grandparent is getting to see the world again through the eyes of a child.
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The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.
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Do you know how much land is under ice, rock and snow? Do you know why 90 percent of us live within 100 kilometres of the U.S. border? We have this idea we're a vast country. But the reality is that a lot of it, a huge amount, is uninhabitable.
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We no longer see the world as a single entity. We've moved to cities and we think the economy is what gives us our life, that if the economy is strong we can afford garbage collection and sewage disposal and fresh food and water and electricity. We go through life thinking that money is the key to having whatever we want, without regard to what it does to the rest of the world.
David SuzukiRead
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