--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How horrible to think what we may wish…" description: "\"“How horrible to think what we may wish for, lay in anguish for, may be within our reach but we are unable to see them.”\" — D. Morgenstern" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/d-morgenstern-49953_desperation_how-horrible-to-think-what-we-may-wish-f_1642122.jpg" --- # How horrible to think what we may wish for, lay in anguish… ![“How horrible to think what we may wish for, lay in anguish for, may be within our reach but we are unable to see them.” quote by D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/d-morgenstern-49953_desperation_how-horrible-to-think-what-we-may-wish-f_1642122.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/d-morgenstern-49953_desperation_how-horrible-to-think-what-we-may-wish-f_1642122.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/d-morgenstern-49953_desperation_how-horrible-to-think-what-we-may-wish-f_1642122.jpg) > ““How horrible to think what we may wish for, lay in anguish for, may be within our reach but we are unable to see them.”” [D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It warns that desires we cannot perceive may be attainable yet cause suffering. **In simple terms:** Unseen wishes can cause pain despite being reachable. Key Takeaway Recognize and clarify hidden desires. Themes desire perception pain Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal goals - relationship expectations - career planning Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What hidden desire might you be ignoring? - How can you bring unseen wishes into awareness? A Different Perspective Unclear wishes may remain unattainable without insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) ## Related quotes > [“Perhaps her only legacy would be that she had known something immortal, and while eternity may still belong to God alone, not all things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-morgenstern/perhaps-her-only-legacy-would-be-that-she-had-known-something/) [D. 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And in this campaign, if there's somebody you don't think should be nominated, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-cowan/and-so-there-are-a-lot-of-bad-things-and-in-this-campaign-if-there-s/) [Geoffrey Cowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-cowan/) > [What if there were no grownups? Suppose the whole idea of grownups was an illusion? What if their money was really just playground marbles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/what-if-there-were-no-grownups-suppose-the-whole-idea-of-grownups-was/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [On their deathbed, do people think: 'I wish I'd spent more time with my Ferrari'? Or do they say: 'I wish I'd spent more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-lewis/on-their-deathbed-do-people-think-i-wish-i-d-spent-more-time-with-my/) [Clive Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-lewis/) > [Sometimes I wake up and think I wish id never told the world my story but I know good comes from it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/sometimes-i-wake-up-and-think-i-wish-id-never-told-the-world-my-story/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [“I wish I was perfect as you think I am. I wish I were good. I'm not. I want to be good enough. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-robinson/i-wish-i-was-perfect-as-you-think-i-am-i-wish-i-were-good-i-m-not-i/) [Rachel Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-robinson/) > [The more I think, the more I wish I could push stop then hit rewind,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bullet-for-my-valentine/the-more-i-think-the-more-i-wish-i-could-push-stop-then-hit-rewind/) [Bullet For My Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bullet-for-my-valentine/) > [Such being the happiness of the times, that you may think as you wish, and speak as you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/such-being-the-happiness-of-the-times-that-you-may-think-as-you-wish/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“I should think that is what anyone would wish- to be loved for themselves and not their position.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/i-should-think-that-is-what-anyone-would-wish-to-be-loved-for/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [I hope the ring you gave to her turns her finger green, I hope when your in bed with her, you think of me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-clarkson/i-hope-the-ring-you-gave-to-her-turns-her-finger-green-i-hope-when/) [Kelly Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-clarkson/) > [I often sit back and think, I wish I'd done that, and find out later that I already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harris/i-often-sit-back-and-think-i-wish-i-d-done-that-and-find-out-later/) [Richard Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-harris/) > [If you should you ever think of me, my wish is that it makes you smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-should-you-ever-think-of-me-my-wish-is-that-it-makes-you-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by D. Morgenstern > [“Hate and love were both conceived in fear, perhaps that was why they were nearly the same thing, but only one was steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-morgenstern/hate-and-love-were-both-conceived-in-fear-perhaps-that-was-why-they/) [D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) > [“That alone would be Eddie's triumph in all this; that she had taught the kelpie suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-morgenstern/that-alone-would-be-eddie-s-triumph-in-all-this-that-she-had-taught/) [D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) > [“She had been nothing but a beloved bauble passed from a mother to a son, a decoration of vanity, devoid of identity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-morgenstern/she-had-been-nothing-but-a-beloved-bauble-passed-from-a-mother-to-a/) [D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) > [“As you have seen the treachery of love because of me, I have seen my cruelty because of you. But you learned mercy from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-morgenstern/as-you-have-seen-the-treachery-of-love-because-of-me-i-have-seen-my/) [D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) > [“Perhaps her only legacy would be that she had known something immortal, and while eternity may still belong to God alone, not all things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-morgenstern/perhaps-her-only-legacy-would-be-that-she-had-known-something/) [D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) > [“Was this new self awareness a gift or a curse?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-morgenstern/was-this-new-self-awareness-a-gift-or-a-curse/) [D. Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) [Explore all 7 D. Morgenstern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-morgenstern/) ## More Anguish quotes > [“He put his forehead against hers. “Alannah, my heart is yours.” He said softly. “And yet, I must hand it over to someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-morin/he-put-his-forehead-against-hers-alannah-my-heart-is-yours-he-said/) [B.C. Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-morin/) > [Knowledge gives a wider choice and more anguish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/knowledge-gives-a-wider-choice-and-more-anguish/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. 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Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [I saw my parents as gods whose every wish must be obeyed or I would suffer the penalty of anguish and guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-wood/i-saw-my-parents-as-gods-whose-every-wish-must-be-obeyed-or-i-would/) [Natalie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-wood/) > [Every last cast is actually a first cast. The first cast and first chance to catch the next fish. The next time you anguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/every-last-cast-is-actually-a-first-cast-the-first-cast-and-first/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-there-are-many-words-and/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [So silently, peacefully, without hurry, without any tension, without any anguish, move into yourself instantly. It is urgent. Unless meditation becomes urgent to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/so-silently-peacefully-without-hurry-without-any-tension-without-any/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/it-breaks-my-heart-to-think-about-a-family-weeping-over-the-loss-of-a/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) [Browse all 570 Anguish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How horrible to think what we may wish for, lay in anguish for, may be within our reach but we are unable to see them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "D. 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