--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yet velvet curtains, soft cheese…" description: "\"“Yet velvet curtains, soft cheese, compelling work and boys who can run full-tilt—it isn't enough. And if it isn't, it isn't. There's no living with th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/hanif-kureishi-3233_imagination_yet-velvet-curtains-soft-cheese-compelli_2873880.jpg" --- # Yet velvet curtains, soft cheese, compelling work and boys… ![“Yet velvet curtains, soft cheese, compelling work and boys who can run full-tilt—it isn't enough. And if it isn't, it isn't. There's no living with that. The world is made from our imagination; our eyes enliven it, as our hands give it shape. Wanting makes it thrive; meaning is what you put in…” quote by Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/hanif-kureishi-3233_imagination_yet-velvet-curtains-soft-cheese-compelli_2873880.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/hanif-kureishi-3233_imagination_yet-velvet-curtains-soft-cheese-compelli_2873880.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/hanif-kureishi-3233_imagination_yet-velvet-curtains-soft-cheese-compelli_2873880.jpg) > ““Yet velvet curtains, soft cheese, compelling work and boys who can run full-tilt—it isn't enough. And if it isn't, it isn't. There's no living with that. The world is made from our imagination; our eyes enliven it, as our hands give it shape. Wanting makes it thrive; meaning is what you put in, not what you extract. You only see what you are inclined to see, and no more. We have to make the new.”” [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination shapes reality; meaning comes from what we create, not what we extract; we must actively craft new visions. **In simple terms:** We create meaning through imagination and action. Key Takeaway Actively imagine and create meaning. Themes imagination creativity meaning-making agency Mood optimistic determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - design - entrepreneurship - urban planning Key Concepts existentialism constructivism artistic process Questions to Reflect On - What new vision will you create? - How do you turn imagination into reality? A Different Perspective Fear of failure can block imaginative creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) [Shape Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shape-wanting-3946555/) [Thrive Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrive-meaning-3946556/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) [Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting/) [Wanting Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-makes-439868/) ## Related quotes > [''When you do finally get what you want, the problem is there's always someone that's trying to take it away. And all that wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gossip-girl/when-you-do-finally-get-what-you-want-the-problem-is-there-s-always/) [Gossip Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gossip-girl/) > [“The problem with wanting is that is makes us weak. How right he was. I'd wanted so badly to belong somewhere, anywhere. I'd been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/the-problem-with-wanting-is-that-is-makes-us-weak-how-right-he-was-i/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [I wanted to believe anything so that I wouldn’t have to face the future alone. The problem with wanting is that it makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-wanted-to-believe-anything-so-that-i-wouldn-t-have-to-face-the/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Reality is what we want it to be or what we do not want it to be, but it is not our wanting or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/reality-is-what-we-want-it-to-be-or-what-we-do-not-want-it-to-be-but/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“I can only think how good life on earth can be, at times. What grief two people can give to one another! And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-can-only-think-how-good-life-on-earth-can-be-at-times-what-grief/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [You don't stop loving someone just because you hate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/you-don-t-stop-loving-someone-just-because-you-hate-them/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [One would hope, as well that intimacy would leave more of a mark, that more of it would remain. But it doesn’t. You just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/one-would-hope-as-well-that-intimacy-would-leave-more-of-a-mark-that/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“You thought I was answering "As you wish" but that's only because you were hearing wrong. "I love you" was what it was, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-thought-i-was-answering-as-you-wish-but-that-s-only-because-you/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-lasting-value-of-our-public-service-for-god-is-measured-by-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Is it any wonder that for millions of men the only intimacy is physical, silent, and predictable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-donahue/is-it-any-wonder-that-for-millions-of-men-the-only-intimacy-is/) [Phil Donahue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-donahue/) > [“Intercourse is one thing, Intimacy is everything. Be encouraged”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-e-wagner/intercourse-is-one-thing-intimacy-is-everything-be-encouraged/) [Kerry E. Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-e-wagner/) > [When you write something by hand, there's a sort of intimacy that is just intrinsic to that act. You don't get to delete something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/when-you-write-something-by-hand-there-s-a-sort-of-intimacy-that-is/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [Intimacy requires an ability to both merge and be separate, to come together and be apart, like oscillating on a giant swing from oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/intimacy-requires-an-ability-to-both-merge-and-be-separate-to-come/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) > [“One single syllable of intimacy and the world is put to rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/one-single-syllable-of-intimacy-and-the-world-is-put-to-rights/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) ## More by Hanif Kureishi > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [ Harvey \[Weinstein\] didn't want to release \[MY SON THE FANATIC\]; he held it for two years because he wanted a happy ending, although I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/harvey-weinstein-didn-t-want-to-release-my-son-the-fanatic-he-held-it/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“Starenje nije za slabice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/starenje-nije-za-slabice/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“Ali isto tako sam i shvatio da prestupnistvo samo ucvrscuje pravila koja pokusava da prekrsi. Nista ne osnazuje normu kao odstupanje od nje.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/ali-isto-tako-sam-i-shvatio-da-prestupnistvo-samo-ucvrscuje-pravila/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [One would hope, as well that intimacy would leave more of a mark, that more of it would remain. But it doesn’t. You just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/one-would-hope-as-well-that-intimacy-would-leave-more-of-a-mark-that/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“You see people truly when they enjoy the most.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/you-see-people-truly-when-they-enjoy-the-most/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [I guess writing is a kind of therapy in the sense that there are things you need to say and you say them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-guess-writing-is-a-kind-of-therapy-in-the-sense-that-there-are/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [What a quality of innocence people have when they don't expect to be harmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/what-a-quality-of-innocence-people-have-when-they-don-t-expect-to-be/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“People who were only ever half right about things drove me mad. I hated the flood of opinion, the certainty, the easy talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/people-who-were-only-ever-half-right-about-things-drove-me-mad-i/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“Desire is naughty and doesn't conform to our ideals, which is why we have such a need of them. Desire mocks all human endeavour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/desire-is-naughty-and-doesn-t-conform-to-our-ideals-which-is-why-we/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [I began to enjoy my own generosity; I felt the pleasure of pleasing others, especially as this was accompanied by money-power. I was paying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-began-to-enjoy-my-own-generosity-i-felt-the-pleasure-of-pleasing/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“Maybe you never stop feeling like an eight-year-old in front of your parents. You resolve to be your mature self, to react in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/maybe-you-never-stop-feeling-like-an-eight-year-old-in-front-of-your/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I don’t like being left for long struggling with my dangerous self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-don-t-like-being-left-for-long-struggling-with-my-dangerous-self/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“Who doesn’t love cock?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/who-doesn-t-love-cock/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) [Explore all 129 Hanif Kureishi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Yet velvet curtains, soft cheese, compelling work and boys who can run full-tilt—it isn't enough. And if it isn't, it isn't. There's no living with that. The world is made from our imagination; our eyes enliven it, as our hands give it shape. 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