--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you stop inventing reality then you…" description: "\"When you stop inventing reality then you see things as they really are.\" — Ben Okri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/ben-okri-3640_inventing_when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you_2880716.jpg" --- # When you stop inventing reality then you see things as… ![“When you stop inventing reality then you see things as they really are.” quote by Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/ben-okri-3640_inventing_when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you_2880716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/ben-okri-3640_inventing_when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you_2880716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/ben-okri-3640_inventing_when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you_2880716.jpg) > “When you stop inventing reality then you see things as they really are.” [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing beyond personal narratives reveals objective truth, freeing the mind from self‑constructed illusions. **In simple terms:** Seeing beyond self reveals truth. Key Takeaway Question assumptions regularly. Themes perception reality truth seeking Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - critical analysis - spiritual practice - creative writing Key Concepts philosophical insight mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions shape your view? - How can you practice seeing beyond illusion? A Different Perspective Truth can be subjective, not absolute. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing/) [Inventing Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing-reality-2943567/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-things-301159/) [Stop Inventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-inventing-655920/) [Things Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-really/) ## Related quotes > [For African-American people, I am in the business of inventing a reality that gives a different perspective - on history, on crime, on art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/for-african-american-people-i-am-in-the-business-of-inventing-a/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [“And if this is the last time I see you all, don't stop inventing. Don't stop being amazing. Keep G.I.R.L. alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-whitley/and-if-this-is-the-last-time-i-see-you-all-don-t-stop-inventing-don-t/) [Jeremy Whitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-whitley/) > [What if I never stop inventing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/what-if-i-never-stop-inventing/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [People should stop inventing new things. They might make our lives easier in the short term, but they end up creating stress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-strachan/people-should-stop-inventing-new-things-they-might-make-our-lives/) [Michaela Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-strachan/) > [“Keep creating new chapters in your personal book and never stop re-inventing and perfecting yourself. Try new things. Pick up new hobbies and books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/keep-creating-new-chapters-in-your-personal-book-and-never-stop-re/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [I said, 'I need to know how he died.' He flipped back and pointed at, 'Why?' So I can stop inventing how he died.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-said-i-need-to-know-how-he-died-he-flipped-back-and-pointed-at-why/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I don't know how everybody else feels, but I just long for reality rather than these made-up things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-don-t-know-how-everybody-else-feels-but-i-just-long-for-reality/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [The only shared reality we have is things we have seen on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armando-iannucci/the-only-shared-reality-we-have-is-things-we-have-seen-on-television/) [Armando Iannucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armando-iannucci/) > [The reality of things going on around me is more interesting than the fantasies of the world I work in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me-is-more-interesting-than-the/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I realize now that the reality of things is not something you convey to people but something you make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-realize-now-that-the-reality-of-things-is-not-something-you-convey/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I write toward both idealism and reality - how things are and how I wish they could be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-write-toward-both-idealism-and-reality-how-things-are-and-how-i/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“The subject matter. . . is not that collection of solid, static objects extended in space but the life that is lived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-subject-matter-is-not-that-collection-of-solid-static-objects-2/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [For, try as we may, we cannot get behind the appearence of things to reality. And the terrible reason may be that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/for-try-as-we-may-we-cannot-get-behind-the-appearence-of-things-to/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I think you just have to give yourself a dose of reality. Things don't always work out the way you want them to in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brady-quinn/i-think-you-just-have-to-give-yourself-a-dose-of-reality-things-don-t/) [Brady Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brady-quinn/) > [I use to do things that changed my perception of reality now I do things that change my perception to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/i-use-to-do-things-that-changed-my-perception-of-reality-now-i-do/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) ## More by Ben Okri > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“In a fractured age, when cynicism is god, here is a possible heresy: we live by stories, we also live in them. One way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/in-a-fractured-age-when-cynicism-is-god-here-is-a-possible-heresy-we/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The best writing is not about the writer, the best writing is absolutely not about the writer, it's about us, it's about the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-best-writing-is-not-about-the-writer-the-best-writing-is/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Maybe there are only three kinds of stories: those we live, those we tell, and those that help our souls fly upwards to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/maybe-there-are-only-three-kinds-of-stories-those-we-live-those-we/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The earliest storytellers were magi, seers, bards, griots, shamans. They were, it would seem, old as time, and as terrifying to gaze upon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-earliest-storytellers-were-magi-seers-bards-griots-shamans-they/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [An inner darkness is darker than an outer darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/an-inner-darkness-is-darker-than-an-outer-darkness/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-past-present-and-future-come/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/our-time-here-is-magic-it-s-the-only-space-you-have-to-realize/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Fire is one of my temperaments. It is behind all my work... Fire is a chemical presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/fire-is-one-of-my-temperaments-it-is-behind-all-my-work-fire-is-a/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [I lived rough, by my wits, was homeless, lived on the streets, lived on friends' floors, was happy, was miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/i-lived-rough-by-my-wits-was-homeless-lived-on-the-streets-lived-on/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [If we could be pure dancers in spirit we would never be afraid to love, and we would love with strength and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/if-we-could-be-pure-dancers-in-spirit-we-would-never-be-afraid-to/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Without stories we would go mad. Life would lose its moorings or lose its orientations. even in silence we are living our stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/without-stories-we-would-go-mad-life-would-lose-its-moorings-or-lose/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Literature doesn't have a country. Shakespeare is an African writer. His Falstaff, for example, is very African in his appetite for life, his largeness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/literature-doesn-t-have-a-country-shakespeare-is-an-african-writer/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“So long as a canvas is empty its potential is infinite… The empty canvas can become a gateway into the landscape of nightmares or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/so-long-as-a-canvas-is-empty-its-potential-is-infinite-the-empty/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [I went to London because, for me, it was the home of literature. I went there because of Dickens and Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/i-went-to-london-because-for-me-it-was-the-home-of-literature-i-went/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) [Explore all 124 Ben Okri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## More Inventing quotes > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [With all the technology we're inventing and what they're coming up with scientifically, people are having longer lifetimes. It's scary, but in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-murphy/with-all-the-technology-we-re-inventing-and-what-they-re-coming-up/) [Brittany Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-murphy/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered himself, that child is kept from inventing it and consequently from understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/each-time-one-prematurely-teaches-a-child-something-he-could-have/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [As human beings, we are the only organisms that create for the sheer stupid pleasure of doing so. Whether it's laying out a garden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/as-human-beings-we-are-the-only-organisms-that-create-for-the-sheer/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I'm inventing new principles. The audience has a point of view that no one can predict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-copperfield/i-m-inventing-new-principles-the-audience-has-a-point-of-view-that-no/) [David Copperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-copperfield/) > [You have to be closer to religious origins -- the generation of the 20's was truly secular in that it still knew its theology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-douglas/you-have-to-be-closer-to-religious-origins-the-generation-of-the-20-s/) [Ann Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-douglas/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Some theists, observing that all 'effects' need a cause, assert that God is a cause but not an effect. But no one has ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/some-theists-observing-that-all-effects-need-a-cause-assert-that-god/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [Western doctors are like poor plumbers. They treat a splashing tub by cleaning up the water. These plumbers are extremely apt at drying up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-parsons-burkitt/western-doctors-are-like-poor-plumbers-they-treat-a-splashing-tub-by/) [Denis Parsons Burkitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-parsons-burkitt/) > [I started inventing things, and then I couldn't stop, like beavers, which I know about. People think they cut down trees so they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-started-inventing-things-and-then-i-couldn-t-stop-like-beavers/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [As I see it, whoever's doing the inventing is also doing most of the learning - and probably having most of the fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchel-resnick/as-i-see-it-whoever-s-doing-the-inventing-is-also-doing-most-of-the/) [Mitchel Resnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchel-resnick/) > [“To those who hadn't been around Violet long, nothing would have seemed unusual, but those who knew her well knew that when she tied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/to-those-who-hadn-t-been-around-violet-long-nothing-would-have-seemed/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) [Browse all 328 Inventing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you stop inventing reality then you see things as they really are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Okri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you-see-things-as-they-really-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inventing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you-see-things-as-they-really-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/ben-okri-3640_inventing_when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you_2880716.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/ben-okri-3640_inventing_when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you_2880716.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/ben-okri-3640_inventing_when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you_2880716.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you stop inventing reality then you see things as they really are.” — Ben Okri", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Okri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you stop inventing reality then...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you-see-things-as-they-really-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/when-you-stop-inventing-reality-then-you-see-things-as-they-really-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```