--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would find myself laughing and…" description: "\"I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d7/amy-tan-730_grateful_i-would-find-myself-laughing-and-wonderi_2270362.jpg" --- # I would find myself laughing and wondering where these… ![“I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they came from.” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d7/amy-tan-730_grateful_i-would-find-myself-laughing-and-wonderi_2270362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d7/amy-tan-730_grateful_i-would-find-myself-laughing-and-wonderi_2270362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d7/amy-tan-730_grateful_i-would-find-myself-laughing-and-wonderi_2270362.jpg) > “I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they came from.” [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker appreciates imagination as a source of unexpected ideas and feels grateful for its origins. **In simple terms:** Imagination is a gift, be thankful for it. Key Takeaway Embrace and thank your creative thoughts. Themes creativity gratitude wonder Mood reflective appreciative Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - writing - artistic brainstorming - problem solving - personal reflection Key Concepts imagination inspiration mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you nurture unexpected ideas? - What does gratitude for imagination change your work? A Different Perspective Imagination can be fleeting and hard to control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [It's definitely true that there are a lot of the devices we used on 'Star Trek,' that came out the imagination of the writers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levar-burton/it-s-definitely-true-that-there-are-a-lot-of-the-devices-we-used-on/) [LeVar Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levar-burton/) > [My role models came in my imagination, from what I'd heard on the radio or on record... Vera Lynn I loved, but I'd only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/my-role-models-came-in-my-imagination-from-what-i-d-heard-on-the/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [All the really good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-wood/all-the-really-good-ideas-i-ever-had-came-to-me-while-i-was-milking-a/) [Grant Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-wood/) > [I never went to art school and I never thought of going to an art school. It was just a way of manifesting these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/i-never-went-to-art-school-and-i-never-thought-of-going-to-an-art/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [When you think about it, most of the good ideas came along to make sin a whole lot easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/when-you-think-about-it-most-of-the-good-ideas-came-along-to-make-sin/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-wood/all-the-good-ideas-i-ever-had-came-to-me-while-i-was-milking-a-cow/) [Grant Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-wood/) > [“By living, thinking, even dreaming the story in one continuous process, ideas came faster and faster. Sometimes the typewriter keys would fly so fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-b-gibson/by-living-thinking-even-dreaming-the-story-in-one-continuous-process/) Walter B Gibson > [Our ancestors who changed the world did so through new ideas which came to them as they acted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-charles-barker/our-ancestors-who-changed-the-world-did-so-through-new-ideas-which/) [Raymond Charles Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-charles-barker/) > [Forty percent of my ideas came from my wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-royer/forty-percent-of-my-ideas-came-from-my-wife/) [Mike Royer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-royer/) > [Ideas came with explosive immediacy, like an instant birth. Human thought is like a monstrous pendulum; it keeps swinging from one extreme to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/ideas-came-with-explosive-immediacy-like-an-instant-birth-human/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [To make the script, you need ideas, and for me a lot of times, a final script is made up of many fragments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/to-make-the-script-you-need-ideas-and-for-me-a-lot-of-times-a-final/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [It was a matter of going back through a lot of sermons and remembering the questions and conversations, where these ideas came from. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/it-was-a-matter-of-going-back-through-a-lot-of-sermons-and/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant ## More by Amy Tan > [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/so-sad-this-is-the-saddest-part-when-you-lose-someone-you-love-that/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“bad, how likely is it to come”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/bad-how-likely-is-it-to-come/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. That becomes part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/shanghainese-people-are-good-negotiators-they-re-very-persistent-and/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [You should think about your character. Know where you are changing, how you will be changed, what cannot be changed back again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/you-should-think-about-your-character-know-where-you-are-changing-how/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-hid-my-deepest-feelings-so-well-i-forgot-where-i-placed-them/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Lebih baik jadi orang yang TIDAK TERLUPAKAN daripada orang yang MEMBOSANKAN -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/lebih-baik-jadi-orang-yang-tidak-terlupakan-daripada-orang-yang/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/after-all-bao-bomu-says-what-is-the-past-but-what-we-choose-to/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-all-become-different-readers-in-how-we-respond-to-books-why-we/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-was-no-longer-scared-i-could-see-what-was-inside-me/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-am-ashamed-she-is-ashamed-because-she-is-my-daughter-and-i-am-proud/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) [Explore all 383 Amy Tan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## More Grateful quotes > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Obviously I'm very grateful 'Bad Guy' is doing so well - it's shocking and surprising and gratifying - but I do think it's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finneas/obviously-i-m-very-grateful-bad-guy-is-doing-so-well-it-s-shocking/) [Finneas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finneas/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Kenny G, I have to be grateful to him for proving that the instrument can be played all different kinds of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lacy/kenny-g-i-have-to-be-grateful-to-him-for-proving-that-the-instrument/) [Steve Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-lacy/) > [Our nation's promise to have veterans' backs must extend to their families, who for their own service and sacrifices, deserve the full support of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kim/our-nation-s-promise-to-have-veterans-backs-must-extend-to-their/) [Andy Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kim/) > [“I'm grateful you entrusted me with them. But the day will come when someone will knock the sails out of you. She'll shatter every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senayda-pierre/i-m-grateful-you-entrusted-me-with-them-but-the-day-will-come-when/) [Senayda Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senayda-pierre/) > [Cooking brings me so much joy. I love everything, down to the execution of the plate to picking out fresh ingredients at the market.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-budig/cooking-brings-me-so-much-joy-i-love-everything-down-to-the-execution/) [Kathryn Budig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-budig/) > [I'm just grateful to people who are willing to admit how bad things feel for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-just-grateful-to-people-who-are-willing-to-admit-how-bad-things/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [Together, we must prioritize the wellbeing of those who have selflessly served our nation. This is the least that a grateful nation can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-n-green/together-we-must-prioritize-the-wellbeing-of-those-who-have/) [Al N. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-n-green/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Often I'm told I'm an inspiration to people which I will forever be grateful for. But the reality is that I'm only able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizzie-velasquez/often-i-m-told-i-m-an-inspiration-to-people-which-i-will-forever-be/) [Lizzie Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizzie-velasquez/) > [Love your family. Love your country. Never stop learning... And always look back and be grateful to where you came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gokongwei/love-your-family-love-your-country-never-stop-learning-and-always/) [John Gokongwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gokongwei/) > [I'm grateful to Kroger for investing in our community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-james/i-m-grateful-to-kroger-for-investing-in-our-community/) [John E. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-james/) [Browse all 4,100 Grateful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. 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