---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs…"
description: "\"As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way that well-known things do not. For we have the opportunity to fill the empty, unknown spaces f..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/cameron-dokey-9476_empty_as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs_978699.png"
---

#  As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way…

![“As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way that well-known things do not. For we have the opportunity to fill the empty, unknown spaces for ourselves, and in them there is room for imagination and for hope.” quote by Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/cameron-dokey-9476_empty_as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs_978699.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/cameron-dokey-9476_empty_as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs_978699.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/cameron-dokey-9476_empty_as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs_978699.png)

> “As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way that well-known things do not. For we have the opportunity to fill the empty, unknown spaces for ourselves, and in them there is room for imagination and for hope.”

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Unknowns invite personal meaning, imagination, and hope, unlike familiar things.

**In simple terms:** The unknown sparks imagination and hope.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the unknown to create meaning.

Themes

creativity hope unknown

Mood

curious optimistic

Type

inspirational philosophical

When to use this quote

- artistic projects
- scientific research
- personal growth

Key Concepts

imagination meaning-making possibility

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you fill unknown spaces?
- What hopes arise from uncertainty?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on unknown can cause anxiety.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/)

## Related quotes

> [Artists live in unknown spaces and give themselves over to following something unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/artists-live-in-unknown-spaces-and-give-themselves-over-to-following/)

[Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/)

> [I had the opportunity, as a child, to grow up in a community center where I was exposed to theater, music, art, and computer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erykah-badu/i-had-the-opportunity-as-a-child-to-grow-up-in-a-community-center/)

[Erykah Badu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erykah-badu/)

> [When people are connected, we can just do some great things. They have the opportunity to get access to jobs, education, health, communications. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/when-people-are-connected-we-can-just-do-some-great-things-they-have/)

[Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/)

> [William Blake once wrote; There are things that are known and thing that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/william-blake-once-wrote-there-are-things-that-are-known-and-thing/)

[William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/)

> [“The Unknown is scary. I’ll always have some fear about what’s going to happen next. The thing is, the Unknown can also be exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/the-unknown-is-scary-i-ll-always-have-some-fear-about-what-s-going-to/)

[Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/)

> ['Gonzo' means taking an unknown thing to an unknown place for a known purpose. But sometimes we're lost in an unknown place for no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-jeff-walker/gonzo-means-taking-an-unknown-thing-to-an-unknown-place-for-a-known/)

[Jerry Jeff Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-jeff-walker/)

> [The night is quiet. Like a camp before battle. The city beset by a thing unknown and will it come from forest or sea?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-battle-the-city-beset-by-a/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [I didn't go to the right schools, didn't come from a well-known family, nor was I even remotely connected to a powerful publishing dynasty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-drudge/i-didn-t-go-to-the-right-schools-didn-t-come-from-a-well-known-family/)

[Matt Drudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-drudge/)

> [People's sex habits are as well known in Hollywood as their political opinions, and much less criticized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hecht/people-s-sex-habits-are-as-well-known-in-hollywood-as-their-political/)

[Ben Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hecht/)

> [I'm not very well known. However, the more well known you get, the more people are going to have expectations of you. Although that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-hawkins/i-m-not-very-well-known-however-the-more-well-known-you-get-the-more/)

[Sally Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-hawkins/)

> [That prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against; for, provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/that-prince-is-highly-esteemed-who-conveys-this-impression-of-himself/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [“He is a good man, but even a good man can fall for a glamorous woman. That is well known.” “That is very well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-is-a-good-man-but-even-a-good-man-can-fall-for-a-glamorous-woman/)

[Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/)

> [“A less well known impact of immigrant populations is the increase that destination states gain in Congress where apportionment of seats in the House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-s-greenberg/a-less-well-known-impact-of-immigrant-populations-is-the-increase/)

[Edward S. Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-s-greenberg/)

> [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/)

[Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/)

> [I was very lucky to get well known much later in life. You need to have flopped quite a few times to get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-was-very-lucky-to-get-well-known-much-later-in-life-you-need-to/)

[George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/)

## More by Cameron Dokey

> [“Do you fear to lose me? Have I become so essential to you that you will treasure me always and never take me for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/do-you-fear-to-lose-me-have-i-become-so-essential-to-you-that-you/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [“My growing was definitely a series of adventures, followed by bumps, bruises, and many scoldings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/my-growing-was-definitely-a-series-of-adventures-followed-by-bumps/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [“Acting with discipline requires you to know your true nature and, having come to know it, to bring it under control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/acting-with-discipline-requires-you-to-know-your-true-nature-and/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [How much easier my life would be if I did not love you! I thought. How much less painful, but how much plainer. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/how-much-easier-my-life-would-be-if-i-did-not-love-you-i-thought-how/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [I suppose when the things that give you bad dreams live inside you, there's no point in trying to stop them. They're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/i-suppose-when-the-things-that-give-you-bad-dreams-live-inside-you/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [Thinking about dark and troublesome things, wondering when they'll come to pay you a visit, turns out to be the very best way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/thinking-about-dark-and-troublesome-things-wondering-when-they-ll/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [Even the most straightforward of paths could turn out to be more complicated than it seemd at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/even-the-most-straightforward-of-paths-could-turn-out-to-be-more/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [My playing had called to another human being at last. Surely, she could be no other than my own true love. Slowly, I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/my-playing-had-called-to-another-human-being-at-last-surely-she-could/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [True love comes when it will, not when it's called.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/true-love-comes-when-it-will-not-when-it-s-called/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [“That is what love is. A possibility that becomes a choice. A choice you keep making, over and over. Day after day. Year after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/that-is-what-love-is-a-possibility-that-becomes-a-choice-a-choice-you/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [Keep what you hold in your heart safe and strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/keep-what-you-hold-in-your-heart-safe-and-strong/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [Over and over, we start our own tales, compose our own stories, whether our lives are short or long. Until at last all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/over-and-over-we-start-our-own-tales-compose-our-own-stories-whether/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [How did you explain a thing it had not occurred to you to question? A thing you just knew, clear through to your soul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/how-did-you-explain-a-thing-it-had-not-occurred-to-you-to-question-a/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [“I love you, Papa," I said. "And I love you," my father replied. "I have loved you every day of your life. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/i-love-you-papa-i-said-and-i-love-you-my-father-replied-i-have-loved/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

> [“But fear is no fit means to measure anyone, for fools have no fear, or so I've heard it said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/but-fear-is-no-fit-means-to-measure-anyone-for-fools-have-no-fear-or/)

[Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

[Explore all 72 Cameron Dokey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/)

## More Empty quotes

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/)

[Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/)

> [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/)

[Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/)

> [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/)

[Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/)

> [Why chase after thoughts, which are superficial ripples of present awareness? Rather look directly into the naked, empty nature of thoughts; then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamgon-kongtrul/why-chase-after-thoughts-which-are-superficial-ripples-of-present/)

Jamgon Kongtrul

> [Education turns an empty mind into an open mind. It turns information into behavioural transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-khera/education-turns-an-empty-mind-into-an-open-mind-it-turns-information/)

[Shiv Khera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-khera/)

> [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/)

[Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/)

> [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [I don't see the future as bright, language-wise. I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/)

[Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/)

> [I get letters every year from women who think Valentine's Day is an empty exercise, but are ironically pretty exercised when their boyfriends neglect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-get-letters-every-year-from-women-who-think-valentine-s-day-is-an/)

[Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/)

Browse all 3,081 Empty quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way that well-known things do not. For we have the opportunity to fill the empty, unknown spaces for ourselves, and in them there is room for imagination and for hope.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Cameron Dokey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs-to-us-in-a-way-that-well/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Empty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs-to-us-in-a-way-that-well/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/cameron-dokey-9476_empty_as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs_978699.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/cameron-dokey-9476_empty_as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs_978699.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/cameron-dokey-9476_empty_as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs_978699.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way that well-known things do not. For we have the…” — Cameron Dokey",
                "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": "Cameron Dokey",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "As long as a thing is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs-to-us-in-a-way-that-well/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs-to-us-in-a-way-that-well/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
