--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do keep up at night. I try not to let…" description: "\"I do keep up at night. I try not to let my mind go to extremes in the middle of the night because it would be better to turn all that stuff into dreams..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ff/david-small-15837_dream_i-do-keep-up-at-night-i-try-not-to-let-m_453987.png" --- # I do keep up at night. I try not to let my mind go to… ![“I do keep up at night. I try not to let my mind go to extremes in the middle of the night because it would be better to turn all that stuff into dreams; it would be better if I was sleeping, because dreams become good metaphors for what's really going on inside of you.” quote by David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ff/david-small-15837_dream_i-do-keep-up-at-night-i-try-not-to-let-m_453987.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ff/david-small-15837_dream_i-do-keep-up-at-night-i-try-not-to-let-m_453987.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ff/david-small-15837_dream_i-do-keep-up-at-night-i-try-not-to-let-m_453987.png) > “I do keep up at night. I try not to let my mind go to extremes in the middle of the night because it would be better to turn all that stuff into dreams; it would be better if I was sleeping, because dreams become good metaphors for what's really going on inside of you.” [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Transforming nighttime anxieties into metaphorical dreams can aid self‑understanding. **In simple terms:** Turn night worries into helpful dreams. Key Takeaway Use dreams to process emotions. Themes mental health creativity selfawareness Mood reflective calm Type therapeutic inspirational When to use this quote - journaling - therapy - creative work Key Concepts psychology symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How can you capture dream insights? - What nighttime habit helps you process thoughts? A Different Perspective Dreams can be vague and hard to interpret. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Middle of the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-of-the-night/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [The sun was shining on the sea, Shining with all his might: He did his very best to make The billows smooth and bright--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/the-sun-was-shining-on-the-sea-shining-with-all-his-might-he-did-his/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“And now, in the middle of the night, in this place and time, I hear this music, and it brings me a sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-cook/and-now-in-the-middle-of-the-night-in-this-place-and-time-i-hear-this/) Timothy Cook > [Now I have other demands on my time that are not flexible, I just can't wander into the studio at 2 A.M. like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-cullum/now-i-have-other-demands-on-my-time-that-are-not-flexible-i-just-can/) [Jamie Cullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-cullum/) > [My dad would load me into the car under a pile of blankets in the middle of the night so I could sleep the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-kim/my-dad-would-load-me-into-the-car-under-a-pile-of-blankets-in-the/) [Chloe Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-kim/) > [I tend to wake up in the middle of the night with ideas crying to be documented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/i-tend-to-wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-with-ideas-crying-to-be/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [“He would reach for me in the middle of the night, nearly every single night, wrapping one of those solid arms around my waist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsie-shakespeare/he-would-reach-for-me-in-the-middle-of-the-night-nearly-every-single/) [Chelsie Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsie-shakespeare/) > [“I think the best time to launch an assault on a city would be not only in the middle of the night, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-think-the-best-time-to-launch-an-assault-on-a-city-would-be-not/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“The rat scuttles, the big cat creeps, the monkey dashes, The bat glides, the white crane soars, the lizard darts, And the owl hoots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-fussell/the-rat-scuttles-the-big-cat-creeps-the-monkey-dashes-the-bat-glides/) [Sandy Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-fussell/) > [Do you normally turn up in gentlemen's bedrooms in the middle of the night? If I'd known that, I would have campaigned harder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/do-you-normally-turn-up-in-gentlemen-s-bedrooms-in-the-middle-of-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Inspiration comes in the middle of the night when you should be doing homework.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/inspiration-comes-in-the-middle-of-the-night-when-you-should-be-doing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know he played on the last record but I don't wake up in the middle of the night thinking of Eric Clapton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-bruce/i-know-he-played-on-the-last-record-but-i-don-t-wake-up-in-the-middle/) [Jack Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-bruce/) > [The witching hour, somebody had once whispered to her, was a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/the-witching-hour-somebody-had-once-whispered-to-her-was-a-special/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [“If I were a poet, that’s what I’d write about. People who worked in the middle of the night. Men who loaded trains, emergency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/if-i-were-a-poet-that-s-what-i-d-write-about-people-who-worked-in-the/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Did I ever tell you that you are like sunshine in the middle of the night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/did-i-ever-tell-you-that-you-are-like-sunshine-in-the-middle-of-the/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Lyrics are coming to you all the time. I get inspiration in the middle of the night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/lyrics-are-coming-to-you-all-the-time-i-get-inspiration-in-the-middle/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) ## More by David Small > [Even though I have this solid career in picture books, I've not only been thinking about kids - because I don't think that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/even-though-i-have-this-solid-career-in-picture-books-i-ve-not-only/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [I open journal, I look at the picture and I remember where I was. And I remember the time of day, the temperature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/i-open-journal-i-look-at-the-picture-and-i-remember-where-i-was-and-i/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [I don't like my parents; I never will. I didn't cry at either of their funerals. I haven't missed them for five seconds. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/i-don-t-like-my-parents-i-never-will-i-didn-t-cry-at-either-of-their/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [Humanization and coming to understand somebody as a human being is about as good a kind of forgiveness as you can get, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/humanization-and-coming-to-understand-somebody-as-a-human-being-is/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [I feel sorry for kids nowadays, because in the majority of schools across the country, the arts have been eliminated from the curriculum. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/i-feel-sorry-for-kids-nowadays-because-in-the-majority-of-schools/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [I think all kids feel that their lives are tough, and that they've, been given an unfair shake for one reason or another. 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Otherwise, you're starting deep into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/i-found-great-value-in-teaching-students-from-the-outset-of-their/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [I used to teach on a college level, and I've taught in schools where kids just wanted to be artists, and I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/i-used-to-teach-on-a-college-level-and-i-ve-taught-in-schools-where/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [I'm not a writer. I know a lot of writers; I know a handful of really excellent, great ones, and I know what they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/i-m-not-a-writer-i-know-a-lot-of-writers-i-know-a-handful-of-really/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [Mama had her little cough. Once or twice, some quiet sobbing, out of sight... Or the slamming of kitchen cupboard doors. That was her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/mama-had-her-little-cough-once-or-twice-some-quiet-sobbing-out-of/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [By the time that book So You Want to Be President? came along, we had already had enough presidents that had shown us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/by-the-time-that-book-so-you-want-to-be-president-came-along-we-had/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [I've always been interested in a certain kind of sophistication in children's literature. 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. 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I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I do keep up at night. 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