I have lived with magic and without magic, and I can tell…

“I have lived with magic and without magic, and I can tell you with certainty that a life with magic is better…”

Chris Bohjalian

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Flight of the Dove by Chris Bohjalian, 2005

Living with magic enriches life more than a mundane existence.

In simple terms: Magic makes life better.

Key Takeaway

Seek wonder in daily life.

Themes

imagination enchantment fulfillment choice

Mood

inspirational hopeful

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

creative projects
spiritual practice
storytelling

Key Concepts

fantasy philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

What "magic" can you cultivate?
How does wonder affect resilience?

A Different Perspective

Overreliance on fantasy may ignore reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.7 out of 5 (7 ratings)

More by Chris Bohjalian

I think the most important lesson isn't necessarily to try and write a different book every time, or to try and brand yourself and…

Chris Bohjalian

The honest answer is more complex. On some level I was sent. Or inspired. Or called. But my calling, such as it was, wasn't…

Chris Bohjalian

“A term came to her that they used on occasion at the shelter: the double bind...They used the expression in much the same way…

Chris Bohjalian

“But history does matter. There are lines connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Serbs and the Rwandans. They are…

Chris Bohjalian

What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has…

Chris Bohjalian

He defined himself almost wholly in the negative: It was not who he was, it was who he was not.

Chris Bohjalian

“A moment later, all of the men at the party, stupefied by the way the hooker had gone banshee,”

Chris Bohjalian

“Those who participate in a genocide as well as those who merely look away rarely volunteer much in the way of anecdote or observation.…

Chris Bohjalian

“The Beatrice that obsessed Dante was a Florentine named Bice di Folco Portinari. Envision this moment (and, in all fairness, I am envisioning it…

Chris Bohjalian

“Boys look at us like we look at horses: color, height, eyes. tail. They can't help but have preferences.”

Chris Bohjalian

He recalls what that first German soldier said to his major: No God-not yours or mine-approves of what you're doing.

Chris Bohjalian

“But she insists the family hadn’t a choice. Not true. We always have choices. Isn’t that what Dante teaches us? I really have become…

Chris Bohjalian

“I love it when the snowflakes are flying like butterflies.”

Chris Bohjalian

Why a ghost story? Well, I love them. They're fun to read - and, yes, fun to write.

Chris Bohjalian

The reality is that most of North America knows next to nothing of the 20th centurys first genocide - the systematic slaughter of 1.5…

Chris Bohjalian

Explore all 82 Chris Bohjalian quotes

More Certainty quotes

A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…

Cyril Norman Hinshelwood

Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…

Hubert Selby, Jr

The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…

Paulo Coelho

In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.

Cesare Pavese

Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.

Robert Breault

The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…

Tom Robbins

As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.

Bill Foster

It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…

Colin Greenwood

Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…

Annamie Paul

The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…

Sam Graves

“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…

Mila Gray

[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge…

Roger Bacon

Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…

Pope Francis

As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…

Dale T. Mortensen