--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagination is what I have when I'm on my…" description: "\"“Imagination is what I have when I'm on my own. Pretending is what I do in the world. There's a space in between those two spaces, maybe like the space..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/jane-devin-41541_death_imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-m_1907148.jpg" --- # Imagination is what I have when I'm on my own. Pretending… ![“Imagination is what I have when I'm on my own. Pretending is what I do in the world. There's a space in between those two spaces, maybe like the space between life and death, but it's hard to navigate, and even harder to understand. Then again, I sometimes think that maybe that's just the way life…” quote by Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/jane-devin-41541_death_imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-m_1907148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/jane-devin-41541_death_imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-m_1907148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/jane-devin-41541_death_imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-m_1907148.jpg) > ““Imagination is what I have when I'm on my own. Pretending is what I do in the world. There's a space in between those two spaces, maybe like the space between life and death, but it's hard to navigate, and even harder to understand. Then again, I sometimes think that maybe that's just the way life is, and what I've been searching for is something different.”” [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination and pretending occupy a liminal space between solitude and reality, echoing life's mystery and difficulty in understanding existence. **In simple terms:** Imagination bridges solitude and reality. Key Takeaway Embrace the space between imagination and reality. Themes creativity existence imagination life death Mood reflective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - artistic performance - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy psychology artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination help you navigate uncertainty? - What does the space between life and death mean to you? A Different Perspective The space may cause confusion rather than clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) ## Related quotes > [Life and death were so unpredictable. So close to each other. We existed moment to moment, never knowing who would be the next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/life-and-death-were-so-unpredictable-so-close-to-each-other-we/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [A man is not completely born until he is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-man-is-not-completely-born-until-he-is-dead/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I've handed life and death back to the people who do the living and the dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-bester/i-ve-handed-life-and-death-back-to-the-people-who-do-the-living-and/) [Alfred Bester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-bester/) > [Life and death, union and separation, follow hard upon one another. Nothing is steadfast but the will, nothing endures but one's achieve­ments. These alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshida-shoin/life-and-death-union-and-separation-follow-hard-upon-one-another/) [Yoshida Shoin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshida-shoin/) > [“peace of mind and heart arrives when we accept what is: having been born into this strange life we must accept the wasted gamble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/peace-of-mind-and-heart-arrives-when-we-accept-what-is-having-been/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Nothing focuses attention like a real deadline. If you are in a field where life and death, or having a job or not having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/nothing-focuses-attention-like-a-real-deadline-if-you-are-in-a-field/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [“When I was young” … “Before I was twenty, I mean, I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/when-i-was-young-before-i-was-twenty-i-mean-i-used-to-think-that-life/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“I assure you; while I look like a ghost, I'm no spirit or demon. I'm nothing but a girl struggling to make her way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leanna-renee-hieber/i-assure-you-while-i-look-like-a-ghost-i-m-no-spirit-or-demon-i-m/) [Leanna Renee Hieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leanna-renee-hieber/) > [I was born in Tyrone, 1956, for something I didn't do. I was innocent. But they gave me life. I still remember the midwife…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcaleer/i-was-born-in-tyrone-1956-for-something-i-didn-t-do-i-was-innocent/) Kevin McAleer > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Wise people are able to give themselves gracefully to seemingly contradictory experiences, because they know that they belong to different seasons of life, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/wise-people-are-able-to-give-themselves-gracefully-to-seemingly/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [“So many people die with their dreams in their hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-rogers/so-many-people-die-with-their-dreams-in-their-hands/) [Alex Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-rogers/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I have wondered why is it that some people are less affected and torn by the verities of life and death that others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-wondered-why-is-it-that-some-people-are-less-affected-and-torn/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More by Jane Devin > [“Sometimes, even when I'm trying to keep the load light it just feels so heavy. Like the sky is a ton of bricks waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/sometimes-even-when-i-m-trying-to-keep-the-load-light-it-just-feels/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Positivity can be a negative," I tell her, "if it's used to diminish events that should be cause for concern. Saying 'bad things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/positivity-can-be-a-negative-i-tell-her-if-it-s-used-to-diminish/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Love isn't something you can just unlearn...no matter who you are, or who you're born to, or how much it's not returned" - -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/love-isn-t-something-you-can-just-unlearn-no-matter-who-you-are-or/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Being with other people is hard for me, even when I love them. People have different ways of seeing and feeling, and things they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/being-with-other-people-is-hard-for-me-even-when-i-love-them-people/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“I was fucked-up in some essential way that other people could see, but I couldn’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/i-was-fucked-up-in-some-essential-way-that-other-people-could-see-but/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“I wondered what it would be like to be just myself all the time, but my self seemed to be far away, and made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-just-myself-all-the-time-but/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Underneath my imagination there didn't seem to be anything solid except for the space where I shoved my pain and sadness. Besides that, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/underneath-my-imagination-there-didn-t-seem-to-be-anything-solid/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“And sometimes, just when you think you've got love beat, it comes flowing back as if you really didn't know any better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/and-sometimes-just-when-you-think-you-ve-got-love-beat-it-comes/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“You know the saying a rolling stone gathers no moss? I'm the opposite. I've gathered too much, and when one thing happens, it brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/you-know-the-saying-a-rolling-stone-gathers-no-moss-i-m-the-opposite/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) [Explore all 10 Jane Devin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“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/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Imagination is what I have when I'm on my own. Pretending is what I do in the world. There's a space in between those two spaces, maybe like the space between life and death, but it's hard to navigate, and even harder to understand. Then again, I sometimes think that maybe that's just the way life is, and what I've been searching for is something different.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Devin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-my-own-pretending-is-what-i-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-my-own-pretending-is-what-i-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/jane-devin-41541_death_imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-m_1907148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/jane-devin-41541_death_imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-m_1907148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb9/jane-devin-41541_death_imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-m_1907148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagination is what I have when I'm on my own. Pretending is what I do in the world. There's a space in…” — Jane Devin", "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": "Jane Devin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Imagination is what I have when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-my-own-pretending-is-what-i-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-my-own-pretending-is-what-i-do/#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 } } ] } ```