The 5 Best Quotes From Fernando Pessoa

Fernando Pessoa was a Portuguese writer and poet. He was born in 1888 and died in 1935. Although he also worked in newspapers, advertising and business, his greatest success was as a writer. He gave the world some great literary treasures, and today we will remember some of the best quotes from Fernando Pessoa.

If there is one thing that characterizes Pessoa’s writing, it is the power of suggestion. He gives his readers plenty of room for interpretation. Pessoa invites his readers to reflect on his addiction to subjective themes and the use (or perhaps abuse) of heteronomy. It may be his distinctive style that attracts the attention of so many researchers.

Today we get to know a little more about Fernando Pessoa through these quotes. They help us get closer to his view of the world, relationships and other aspects of life. Without further ado if and but, here they are!

“I am so isolated that I can feel the distance between me and my presence.” – Quote from Fernando Pessoa

This quote allows us to reflect on our own existence. Sometimes we are so focused on the outside that we forget what is most important: ourselves. The distance between us and our presence means that we sometimes do not know who we are.

Do we always show our true selves in front of others? What do we give up to please others? What are we hiding to improve our image? Do we censor ourselves for fear of disapproval from others? All these actions lead us to be isolated from our deepest self. This in turn means that we are separated from our essence. That is right. We put our essence away as if it were less important than what others see in us.

2. “Put everything you are in the smallest things you do.”

With this quote, Fernando Pessoa invites us to give the best of ourselves. Sometimes we do not give our things all because we believe that what we do is not important. But our disposition, not the object itself, tends to define the meaning of something. So, if we can learn to stop living our lives on autopilot, we will realize that even small actions can improve our well-being.

If we keep this attitude in mind and make it a part of our daily lives, we can reap the benefits. It is a very positive and enriching habit to cultivate. Remember that the most difficult things are usually the ones that give us the most satisfaction. After all, thanks to our efforts, we can grow and face challenges that remind us of what we are capable of.

So never diminish the things you do, as insignificant as they may seem. Even actions that seem so trivial at first can teach you lessons and open doors. The small steps are the most important. Whether the road is long or short, the journey consists of all the small steps.

3. “Travel is the traveler. What we see is not what we see, but what we are. ”

This third quote from Fernando Pessoa opens the door to a new perspective on the world around us. Because, every time we see, judge or criticize something outside of ourselves, we see a part of ourselves in this something.

We cannot judge someone who is critical without becoming like them. It is as the often quoted and wise saying:

It is true that we usually notice the mistakes of others before acknowledging our own. But what we see is who we are. Why do people react differently when faced with the same obstacle? Why do some people feel like victims and others do not? Because it’s about who we choose to be and what we choose to project to the world.

4. “Do not do today what you cannot do tomorrow.”

Procrastination is not good at all. We tend to postpone things until tomorrow as if we had all the time in the world to waste. Thus the saying “do not procrastinate tomorrow what you can do today.” But there is another saying that teaches us something similar, but from a different perspective. This is the fourth quote from Fernando Pessoa.

Pessoa invites us to ask questions about what we do. Is it worth it? Does it take you closer to your dreams, or further away? Is it a waste of time? We should not do things just to do them. We need to think about our goals and dreams and make meaningful use of our time. After all, it runs away, second by second.

We spend a lot of time feeling bad. We are unhappy, stuck in our comfort zone… Despite the bad feelings, we do not change our routines. We need to analyze them and ask questions about them. If we do something we do not want to do, and we have the opportunity to stop doing it tomorrow, then go for it! Time is precious. Make the most of it.

5. “Things have no meaning: they have existence. Things are the only hidden meaning of things. ”

This latest quote from Fernando Pessoa invites us to reflect on the human tendency to stamp things. We do this because it makes us feel safer. If something does not have a stamp, it is as if it does not exist. Existence in and of itself does not seem to make sense.

If we analyze the way we communicate, this Pessoa quote makes all this very clear. In our vocabulary, the word “thing” is pleasant. We use it for everything. But what does it really mean? This lack of meaning is in fact the core of its existence: its lack of personality.

All these quotes from Fernando Pessoa give us a different point of view, a different lens to look at the world. They help us to see what is around us with new eyes. The brilliance of Pessoa’s thinking and his way of using words shines through in his writing. His legacy as a writer is the depth of his writing and the way it engages in interpretation and analysis.