“The only saving grace of the present is that it's too damned stupid to question the past very closely.”

“Without the protection of surliness and levity, all children would be crushed by the past—the past of others, loaded onto their shoulders. Selfishness is their saving grace.”

Margaret Atwood (1939) Canadian writer

“It was never too late to learn something. The past is unalterable in any event. The future is the only thing we can change. Learning the lessons of the past is the only way to shape the present and the future.”

Jim Butcher book Ghost Story

“Without question, Steve is the best Broadway lyricist, past or present.”

Stephen Sondheim (1930) American composer and lyricist

“Sometimes I think I live more closely to the past than the present.”

Patricia Briggs (1965) American writer

“The past is a candle at great distance: too close to let you quit, too far to comfort you.”

Amy Bloom (1953) Fiction writer, screenwriter, social worker, psychotherapist

“At this time of life even a day makes a difference, the only saving grace is that sometimes things improve.”

José Saramago book The Cave

“I'm very good at the past. It's the present I can't understand.”

Nick Hornby book High Fidelity

“There's no present. There's only the immediate future and the recent past.”

George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian

“There is neither Past nor Future. There is only the Present.”

Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) Indian religious leader