--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad…" description: "\"Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.\" — Eugene O'Neill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/eugene-o-neill-4173_awakening_life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-d_35417.png" --- # Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two… ![“Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.” quote by Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/eugene-o-neill-4173_awakening_life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-d_35417.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/eugene-o-neill-4173_awakening_life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-d_35417.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/eugene-o-neill-4173_awakening_life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-d_35417.png) > “Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.” [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting, sandwiched between birth and death, and feels like an unsettling dream that we must navigate. **In simple terms:** Existence is a brief, dreamlike interlude. Key Takeaway Life is transient and surreal. Themes impermanence existentialism dream metaphor awakening human condition Mood melancholic reflective wistful Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - contemplating mortality - grieving loss - seeking purpose - creative inspiration - philosophical discussion Key Concepts mortality consciousness meaning illusion Practical Applications - writing reflective essays - designing mindfulness workshops Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to live fully within a dreamlike existence? - How can we reconcile the fleeting nature of life with the desire for lasting impact? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Awakenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakenings/) [Bad dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-dream/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“As long as human beings are regarded as "bad", zero is a good goal. But to be less bad is to accept things as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/as-long-as-human-beings-are-regarded-as-bad-zero-is-a-good-goal-but/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [“Time and time again, throughout the history of medical practice, what was once considered as "scientific" eventually becomes regarded as "bad practice".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stewart/time-and-time-again-throughout-the-history-of-medical-practice-what/) David Stewart > [Life is a series of awakenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-mukerji/life-is-a-series-of-awakenings/) Swami Mukerji > [Awakenings are always terrifying as they force you to realize your past has been lived in confinement, the most disturbing part is when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-karnazes/awakenings-are-always-terrifying-as-they-force-you-to-realize-your/) [Dean Karnazes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-karnazes/) > [“I refuse to be left behind in this world, so I need to catch up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-park/i-refuse-to-be-left-behind-in-this-world-so-i-need-to-catch-up/) [Jessica Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-park/) > [Sometimes, the most profound of awakenings come wrapped in the quietest of moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-crane/sometimes-the-most-profound-of-awakenings-come-wrapped-in-the/) [Stephen Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-crane/) > [You will reach a point where you can finally go for an hour, or a day, or a week without painful reminders of absence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-katafiasz/you-will-reach-a-point-where-you-can-finally-go-for-an-hour-or-a-day/) Karen Katafiasz > [“At first the room is dark and then the furniture reappears dimly as her eyes adjust; it even takes on a faint and hallucinatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/at-first-the-room-is-dark-and-then-the-furniture-reappears-dimly-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“...my awakening life. I am awake in the present. The present is today. Today is a great gift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/my-awakening-life-i-am-awake-in-the-present-the-present-is-today/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Happiness is something that you cannot see. It is naturally felt. When you feel it, you wouldn't wanna let go of it. It makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nio-noveno/happiness-is-something-that-you-cannot-see-it-is-naturally-felt-when/) Nio Noveno > [“In a world of sleepwalkers an awakened mind is a teacher and a catalyst for new awakenings, whether they want to be or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/in-a-world-of-sleepwalkers-an-awakened-mind-is-a-teacher-and-a/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“I was terrified as only grown men and women can be when they wake up in the middle of the night and begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ageyev/i-was-terrified-as-only-grown-men-and-women-can-be-when-they-wake-up/) [M. Ageyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ageyev/) > [“LIFE IS A SERIES OF RUDE AWAKENINGS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dazz/life-is-a-series-of-rude-awakenings/) Andrew Dazz > [“Awake my soul. Awake my spirit. Awake my desires. Awake my light. Awake my mind. Awake my hope. Awake my faith. Awake my love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/awake-my-soul-awake-my-spirit-awake-my-desires-awake-my-light-awake/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Awakenings occur when we lose faith in the viability of our institutions and the authority of our leaders. Religious and spiritual awakening gives people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/awakenings-occur-when-we-lose-faith-in-the-viability-of-our/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) ## More by Eugene O'Neill > [We need above all to learn again to believe in the possibility of nobility of spirit in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/we-need-above-all-to-learn-again-to-believe-in-the-possibility-of/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The past is the present, isn’t it? It’s the future too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/the-past-is-the-present-isn-t-it-it-s-the-future-too/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“You can't be too careful about work. It's the most dangerous habit known to medical science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/you-can-t-be-too-careful-about-work-it-s-the-most-dangerous-habit/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Life is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-for-each-man-a-solitary-cell-whose-walls-are-mirrors/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“LARRY--(with increasing bitter intensity, more as if he were fighting with himself than with Hickey) I'm afraid to live, am I?--and even more afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/larry-with-increasing-bitter-intensity-more-as-if-he-were-fighting/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The child was diseased at birth, stricken with a hereditary ill that only the most vital men are able to shake off. I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/the-child-was-diseased-at-birth-stricken-with-a-hereditary-ill-that/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will. But be drunken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/drunken-with-what-with-wine-with-poetry-or-with-virtue-as-you-will/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“Now I have to lie, especially to myself. But how can you understand, when I don't myself. I've never understood anything about it, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/now-i-have-to-lie-especially-to-myself-but-how-can-you-understand/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [We are such things as rubbish is made of, so let's drink up and forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/we-are-such-things-as-rubbish-is-made-of-so-let-s-drink-up-and-forget/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/curiosity-killed-the-cat-but-satisfaction-brought-it-back/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [How thick the fog is. I can't see the road. All the people in the world could pass by and I would never know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/how-thick-the-fog-is-i-can-t-see-the-road-all-the-people-in-the-world/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [I hate doctors! They'll do anything... to keep you coming to them. They'll sell their souls. What's worse, they'll sell yours, and you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/i-hate-doctors-they-ll-do-anything-to-keep-you-coming-to-them-they-ll/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Like a saint's vision of beatitude. Like the veil of things as they seem drawn back by an unseen hand. For a second you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/like-a-saint-s-vision-of-beatitude-like-the-veil-of-things-as-they/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [There is no present or future-only the past, happening over and over again-now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/there-is-no-present-or-future-only-the-past-happening-over-and-over/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“Now look here, Smithers. They's two kind's of stealing. They's the small kind, like what you does, and the big kind, like I does.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/now-look-here-smithers-they-s-two-kind-s-of-stealing-they-s-the-small/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) [Explore all 114 Eugene O'Neill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) ## More Awakening quotes > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [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/) > [“Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquillizers each day to combat depression, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belsebuub/low-states-are-a-like-a-poison-to-the-psyche-millions-of-people/) [Belsebuub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belsebuub/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/my-political-awakening-if-i-can-be-as-grand-as-to-call-it-that-was/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-often-have-you-sailed-in-my-dreams-and-now-you-come-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) Sindiwe Magona > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. More than any previous time, people are drawn to meditation, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/i-feel-there-is-a-great-spiritual-awakening-on-the-planet-right-now/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [When I was 20 years old, I got cast in 'Spring Awakening' and got swept up in this experience where it was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/when-i-was-20-years-old-i-got-cast-in-spring-awakening-and-got-swept/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [Motivation is awakening own mind and Inspiration is arising spirit in others to find their own with their heart and soul in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/motivation-is-awakening-own-mind-and-inspiration-is-arising-spirit-in/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [“The Illusion - The source of suffering can be linked back to a condition of the mind that creates the illusion of separation--the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-blanchard/the-illusion-the-source-of-suffering-can-be-linked-back-to-a/) L.M.Blanchard > [Dont let me die here help me before I end it all help me save me from the dark I cant wake up SAVE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknone/dont-let-me-die-here-help-me-before-i-end-it-all-help-me-save-me-from/) Unknone [Browse all 1,440 Awakening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eugene O'Neill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awakening" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/eugene-o-neill-4173_awakening_life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-d_35417.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/eugene-o-neill-4173_awakening_life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-d_35417.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/eugene-o-neill-4173_awakening_life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-d_35417.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.” — Eugene O'Neill", "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": "Eugene O'Neill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life is perhaps best regarded as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/#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 } } ] } ```