[Ads-l] False attribution for "If you are depressed, ..." (Zen comment, too)

[Benjamin Barrett]

I just saw the following on Facebook:

“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you 
are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the 
present. - Lao Tzu"

Among the webpages debunking this citation is 
http://ianchadwick.com/blog/poor-lao-tzu-he-gets-blamed-for-so-much/, 
written by Ian Chadwick on October 9, 2013. I gave up trying to find an 
earliest citation for this; the Internet is filled with this quote and 
Google is filled with incorrect date hits.

This claim is not only in English; it can be found in Portuguese. The 
earliest I find is 15 April 2012 at http://blogdojj.com.br/tag/passado/.

=====
"Se você está deprimido,
Você está vivendo no passado:
se você está ansioso,
Você está vivendo no futuro:
Se você está em paz você está vivendo
no presente."
=====

In August 2012, http://oquevocegosta.blogspot.com/2012/08/lao-tzu.html 
has this exact Portuguese wording, but--despite the Lao Tzu 
URL--attributes it to Junia Bretas. This attribution is echoed at 
http://www.wisdomcommons.org/wisbits/4785-if-you-are-depressed-you-are. 
I do not find it on her website at http://www.juniabretas.info/. Her 
book, "Liderança Estratégica" is shown at 
http://www.juniabretas.info/#!livros/c18tj but cannot be searched.

As an aside, this quote is tagged as "Zen" at 
http://www.movemequotes.com/tag/anxiety/.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA

Learn Ainu! https://sites.google.com/site/aynuitak1/home

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