--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reality of things going on around me…" description: "\"The reality of things going on around me is more interesting than the fantasies of the world I work in.\" — Dennis Hopper" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/dennis-hopper-8988_fantasy_the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me_941610.jpg" --- # The reality of things going on around me is more… ![“The reality of things going on around me is more interesting than the fantasies of the world I work in.” quote by Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/dennis-hopper-8988_fantasy_the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me_941610.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/dennis-hopper-8988_fantasy_the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me_941610.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/dennis-hopper-8988_fantasy_the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me_941610.jpg) > “The reality of things going on around me is more interesting than the fantasies of the world I work in.” [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing real life offers richer insight than imagined professional worlds **In simple terms:** Real life is more interesting than imagined work worlds Key Takeaway Pay attention to reality over fantasy Themes observation reality creativity Mood contemplative thoughtful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - journalism - personal reflection Key Concepts perception imagination experience Questions to Reflect On - How does reality shape your creative work? - When does imagination become a hindrance? A Different Perspective Fantasy can inspire but may distract from tangible truths ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fantasies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasies/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting Fantasies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-fantasies-1613173/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-things-301159/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [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/) > [I've always been kind of an escape artist. I think that I thought the day-to-day reality of things was unbearably flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-ve-always-been-kind-of-an-escape-artist-i-think-that-i-thought-the/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [“Live, you say, in the present; Live only in the present. But I don’t want the present, I want reality; I want things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-caeiro/live-you-say-in-the-present-live-only-in-the-present-but-i-don-t-want/) [Alberto Caeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-caeiro/) > [But when one believes in the reality of things, making them visible by artificial means is not quite the same as feeling that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-when-one-believes-in-the-reality-of-things-making-them-visible-by/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“To clarify, things that fight against reality are those things we tend not to accept and therefore never let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-g-roldan/to-clarify-things-that-fight-against-reality-are-those-things-we-tend/) [Alexis G. Roldan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-g-roldan/) > [Some people become the reality of the many things we dream of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jey-lopez/some-people-become-the-reality-of-the-many-things-we-dream-of/) [Jey Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jey-lopez/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [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 startling reality of things is my discovery every single day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-startling-reality-of-things-is-my-discovery-every-single-day/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More by Dennis Hopper > [The best and only authentic book written on the sixties underground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-best-and-only-authentic-book-written-on-the-sixties-underground/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [When some people were going around being surf bums and tennis bums, I was being a gallery bum. I really liked galleries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/when-some-people-were-going-around-being-surf-bums-and-tennis-bums-i/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I used to have to wear a gas mask to school when I was a kid because of the dust. I would tell people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-used-to-have-to-wear-a-gas-mask-to-school-when-i-was-a-kid-because/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I did a video with Mick Jagger down in Rio de Janeiro. But I played a video director, and that's the closest I've gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-did-a-video-with-mick-jagger-down-in-rio-de-janeiro-but-i-played-a/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [Like all artists, I want to cheat death a little and contribute something to the next generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/like-all-artists-i-want-to-cheat-death-a-little-and-contribute/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I'm just a middle-class farm boy from Dodge City, Kansas. And I always thought that acting was art, writing was art, music was art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-m-just-a-middle-class-farm-boy-from-dodge-city-kansas-and-i-always/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [You know, this is such a rich time that we've just been involved in, and there's really a job now for historians. Film is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/you-know-this-is-such-a-rich-time-that-we-ve-just-been-involved-in/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I am just a middle-class farm boy from Dodge City and my grandparents were wheat farmers. I thought painting, acting, directing and photography were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-am-just-a-middle-class-farm-boy-from-dodge-city-and-my-grandparents/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [ The inside of the Pentagon is an incredible place and a dramatic set. We do \[travel\] outside, but the inside workings of the civilian… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-inside-of-the-pentagon-is-an-incredible-place-and-a-dramatic-set/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [It's strange: I always try to do the best acting job I can do under the imaginary circumstances of my working position at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/it-s-strange-i-always-try-to-do-the-best-acting-job-i-can-do-under/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [... I'm sort of a nervous person with the camera, so I will just shoot arbitrarily until I can focus and compose something, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-m-sort-of-a-nervous-person-with-the-camera-so-i-will-just-shoot/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [ \[After Easy Rider\] I couldn't get another movie, so I lived in Mexico City for a couple of years. I lived in Paris for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/after-easy-rider-i-couldn-t-get-another-movie-so-i-lived-in-mexico/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [Society loves to put bubbles up there and pop them, and I resent it. I'd rather expose myself myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/society-loves-to-put-bubbles-up-there-and-pop-them-and-i-resent-it-i/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [My whole written history is one big lie! I mean, I can't even believe my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/my-whole-written-history-is-one-big-lie-i-mean-i-can-t-even-believe/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [Banks wont even loan each other money, everybody's going broke, and here we are inside here, these people are going to be out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/banks-wont-even-loan-each-other-money-everybody-s-going-broke-and/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) [Explore all 76 Dennis Hopper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) ## More Fantasies quotes > [Fashion comes out of the world in which you live, your needs, hopes and fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-gucci/fashion-comes-out-of-the-world-in-which-you-live-your-needs-hopes-and/) [Maurizio Gucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-gucci/) > [“I set my glass down and met his eyes, feeling an overwhelming surge of affection for this man. "That ... makes sense," I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/i-set-my-glass-down-and-met-his-eyes-feeling-an-overwhelming-surge-of/) [Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/) > [It turns out that the God whose word will stand forever does not exist to insure our fantasies that we will not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/it-turns-out-that-the-god-whose-word-will-stand-forever-does-not/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [“Leaders spend time reviewing their mistakes rather than having fantasies over their achievements! They look for every way to do the undone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-spend-time-reviewing-their-mistakes-rather-than-having/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Oskar is the fruit of those fantasies -- the idea that what needed to be saved was not just lives but hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simon/oskar-is-the-fruit-of-those-fantasies-the-idea-that-what-needed-to-be/) [Richard Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simon/) > [Fantasies were safe. It was a break from reality. A chance to act on desires for a short period of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/fantasies-were-safe-it-was-a-break-from-reality-a-chance-to-act-on/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [“Fictional worlds are a great place to indulge in unspoken fantasies. . . like writing the dad you never had. . . but desperately wanted growing up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jc-morrows/fictional-worlds-are-a-great-place-to-indulge-in-unspoken-fantasies/) [Jc Morrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jc-morrows/) > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [If truth be known, I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood which I felt I had to control, otherwise I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/if-truth-be-known-i-carried-some-rather-potent-messianic-fantasies/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Too busy chasing fantasies that you're blind to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-busy-chasing-fantasies-that-you-re-blind-to-reality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A daydreamer is a writer just waiting for pen and paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-daydreamer-is-a-writer-just-waiting-for-pen-and-paper/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“The empty rooms always had a terribly depressing effect upon my father when he considered, he said, that the person who dwelt in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-empty-rooms-always-had-a-terribly-depressing-effect-upon-my/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Who you are is always enough. If your partner wants something different, it does not reflect upon you, but upon their needs and fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-shoshanna/who-you-are-is-always-enough-if-your-partner-wants-something/) [Brenda Shoshanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-shoshanna/) > [I have a tendency to face my bad fantasies in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-have-a-tendency-to-face-my-bad-fantasies-in-my-books/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/fantasies-are-more-than-substitutes-for-unpleasant-reality-they-are/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) [Browse all 344 Fantasies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reality of things going on around me is more interesting than the fantasies of the world I work in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dennis Hopper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me-is-more-interesting-than-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fantasies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me-is-more-interesting-than-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/dennis-hopper-8988_fantasy_the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me_941610.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/dennis-hopper-8988_fantasy_the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me_941610.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/dennis-hopper-8988_fantasy_the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me_941610.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The reality of things going on around me is more interesting than the fantasies of the world I work in.” — Dennis Hopper", "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": "Dennis Hopper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The reality of things going on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me-is-more-interesting-than-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/the-reality-of-things-going-on-around-me-is-more-interesting-than-the/#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 } } ] } ```