--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Up till a minute ago it felt so real, but…" description: "\"“Up till a minute ago it felt so real, but now it seems imaginary. Just a few steps is all it takes for everything associated with it to lose all sense..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/haruki-murakami-21_quote_up-till-a-minute-ago-it-felt-so-real-but_866564.jpg" --- # Up till a minute ago it felt so real, but now it seems… ![“Up till a minute ago it felt so real, but now it seems imaginary. Just a few steps is all it takes for everything associated with it to lose all sense of reality. And me--the person who was there until a moment ago--now I seem imaginary too.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/haruki-murakami-21_quote_up-till-a-minute-ago-it-felt-so-real-but_866564.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/haruki-murakami-21_quote_up-till-a-minute-ago-it-felt-so-real-but_866564.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/haruki-murakami-21_quote_up-till-a-minute-ago-it-felt-so-real-but_866564.jpg) > ““Up till a minute ago it felt so real, but now it seems imaginary. Just a few steps is all it takes for everything associated with it to lose all sense of reality. And me--the person who was there until a moment ago--now I seem imaginary too.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reality can shift instantly, making what felt solid become imagined, and even our sense of self can feel unreal. **In simple terms:** Reality can become fleeting and self can feel unreal. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence and stay grounded. Themes identity reality impermanence self-awareness Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - creative writing - meditation - therapy - philosophical discussion Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay present when reality feels fluid? - What anchors keep you grounded? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize instability, ignoring the need for stable grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [Every mind has another vision of reality. There is not a common reality. Every person thinks he is like the others, but every person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/every-mind-has-another-vision-of-reality-there-is-not-a-common/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [“This change of beliefs or way of seeing your experiences will allow you to filter reality completely differently. The assumption that a map is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-tuhovsky/this-change-of-beliefs-or-way-of-seeing-your-experiences-will-allow/) [Ian Tuhovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-tuhovsky/) > [The reality is I'm not this person with this driving 'get it done' attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-giraldo/the-reality-is-i-m-not-this-person-with-this-driving-get-it-done/) [Greg Giraldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-giraldo/) > [I don’t believe one reads to escape reality. A person reads to confirm a reality he knows is there, but which he has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/i-don-t-believe-one-reads-to-escape-reality-a-person-reads-to-confirm/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [The reality is that a person who has always struggled with numbers is unlikely to be a great accountant or statistician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/the-reality-is-that-a-person-who-has-always-struggled-with-numbers-is/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [There's a very fine line between one person's reality and another person's fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/there-s-a-very-fine-line-between-one-person-s-reality-and-another/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [The reality of the other person lies not in what he reveals to you, but what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reality-of-the-other-person-lies-not-in-what-he-reveals-to-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In order for an ideal to become a reality, there must be a person, a personality to translate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/in-order-for-an-ideal-to-become-a-reality-there-must-be-a-person-a/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [What constitutes - where are we when we sleep? What is our sense of reality at that moment? It's, you know, science now suggests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/what-constitutes-where-are-we-when-we-sleep-what-is-our-sense-of/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [It's my parents' attitudes to situations that gives me a sense of reality about what's worth worrying about, and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-madeley/it-s-my-parents-attitudes-to-situations-that-gives-me-a-sense-of/) [Chloe Madeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-madeley/) > [I like to mix the real and the imaginary. Sometimes it is characters inspired by real people I know or know of. Sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-spiotta/i-like-to-mix-the-real-and-the-imaginary-sometimes-it-is-characters/) [Dana Spiotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-spiotta/) > [The distinction between what is real and what is imaginary is not one that can be finely maintained ... all existing thing are ... imaginary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-braden/the-distinction-between-what-is-real-and-what-is-imaginary-is-not-one/) [Gregg Braden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-braden/) > [Some things can be both real and imaginary at the same time, . . . some lies can be true, . . . broken faith may be restored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/some-things-can-be-both-real-and-imaginary-at-the-same-time-some-lies/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Neither the true nor the false roots are always real; sometimes they are imaginary; that is, while we can always imagine as many roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/neither-the-true-nor-the-false-roots-are-always-real-sometimes-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“Books are like magic carpets, taking us to places real and imaginary that we never thought possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/books-are-like-magic-carpets-taking-us-to-places-real-and-imaginary/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. 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The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. 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Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Reality quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“The universe is not punishing you or blessing you. The universe is simply responding to the vibrational attitude that you are emitting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-hicks/the-universe-is-not-punishing-you-or-blessing-you-the-universe-is/) [Abraham Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-hicks/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. 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I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-daniels/being-under-recruited-coming-out-of-highland-i-ve-carried-that-with/) [Mike Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-daniels/) [Browse all 19,710 Reality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Up till a minute ago it felt so real, but now it seems imaginary. Just a few steps is all it takes for everything associated with it to lose all sense of reality. 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