Fernando Pessoa’s Five Best Quotes

Fernando Pessoa was a Portuguese writer and poet. He was born in 1888 and died in 1935. Pessoa also worked for newspapers, in advertising and in business. Nevertheless, he had his greatest success as a writer. Pessoa left the world some great literary treasures. In this article, we want to commemorate some of Fernando Pessoa’s best quotes.

One thing is characteristic of Pessoa’s writings, the power of suggestion. He leaves his readers a lot of room for interpretation. Pessoa invites his readers to reflect on meaningful topics and rely on him. To do this, he uses (or perhaps abuses) heteronyms. Perhaps it is his special style that attracts the attention of so many researchers.

In this article, we will learn a little more about Fernando Pessoa by getting to know some of his quotes. They help us get closer to his vision of the world, of relationships and other aspects of life. So we won’t wait any longer and get started!

Quotes from Fernando Pessoa

1. “I am so secluded that I can feel the distance between myself and my suit.”

This quote makes us think about our existence. Sometimes we are so focused on external things that we forget the most important thing: ourselves. The distance between us and our presence means that sometimes we don’t know who we are.

Do we always show our true selves in the presence of other people? What do we give up to please others? What are we hiding so that we can improve our image? Do we censor ourselves for fear of the disapproval of others? All these actions cause us to become separated from our deepest self. This also means that we are separated from our essence. That’s right. We put our essence aside as if it were less important than what others see in us.

2. “Put everything you are into the smallest thing you do.”

With this quote, Fernando Pessoa invites us to give the best of ourselves. Sometimes we don’t give our all because we think what we’re doing isn’t important. However, it is our character that often determines the importance of something and not the object itself. So if we can learn to stop living our lives in an automatic way, we will realize that even small actions can improve our well-being.

If we remember this attitude and make it part of our daily life, we can reap the benefits. It is a very positive and enriching habit that we can develop. Also remember that the most difficult things usually provide the most satisfaction. After all, our efforts allow us to grow and face challenges that remind us of what we are capable of.

So never make the things you do smaller, no matter how insignificant they seem. Actions that seem insignificant at first can even teach you lessons and open doors. The small steps are the most important. Whether your road is long or short, the journey consists of all those small steps.

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

This is another one of Fernando Pessoa’s quotes. This third statement opens the door to a new view of the world around us. After all, whenever we see, judge or criticize something outside of ourselves, we see a part of ourselves in it.

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

It is true that we usually notice the shortcomings of others before admitting our own. What we see, however, is who we are. Why do people react differently when faced with the same hurdle? Why do some people feel like victims and others don’t? The reason has to do with who we choose to be and what we choose to show the world.

4. “Don’t do today what you can’t do tomorrow.”

Procrastination is not good at all. We often leave things until tomorrow as if we had all the time in the world. Hence the saying “don’t leave until tomorrow what you can do today.” However, there is another saying that teaches us something similar, but from a different perspective. This is another one of Fernando Pessoa’s quotes.

Pessoa invites us to question what we do. Is it worth it? Does it bring you closer to your dreams or further away? Is it a waste of time? We shouldn’t do things just to do them. We need to think about our goals and dreams and use our time in a meaningful way. After all, our time is running out second by second.

We spend much of our time feeling sad. We are unhappy and stuck in our comfort zone… Despite these bad feelings, we don’t change our routines. We must analyze and question them. If we do something we don’t want to do and we get a chance to stop doing it tomorrow, then we have to go for it! Time is valuable. Make the best of it.

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

This is the last of Fernando Pessoa’s quotes that we discuss in this article. He invites us to think about the human tendency to put labels on things. We do this because it makes us feel safer. If something doesn’t have a label, it’s like it doesn’t exist. Existence in itself does not seem to have any meaning.

If we dissect the way we communicate, this quote from Pessoa really makes it all clear. In our vocabulary, the word “thing” is easy. We use it for everything. What does it actually mean? This lack of meaning is in fact the heart of his existence: his lack of personality.

All these Fernando Pessoa quotes provide us with a different point of view, a different lens through which we can look at the world. They help us see with different eyes what is around us. Pessoa’s thinking is brilliant. This author also puts it beautifully. These aspects shine through in his writings. His legacy as an author is the depth of his writing and the way it allows for interpretation and analysis.