--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is what happens when you live in…" description: "\"This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought: you dream this and you dream that and you sleep right through your life.\" — Jess Walter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ff/jess-walter-2228_dream_this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dr_2148698.jpg" --- # This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought… ![“This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought: you dream this and you dream that and you sleep right through your life.” quote by Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ff/jess-walter-2228_dream_this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dr_2148698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ff/jess-walter-2228_dream_this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dr_2148698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ff/jess-walter-2228_dream_this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dr_2148698.jpg) > “This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought: you dream this and you dream that and you sleep right through your life.” [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living in fantasies disconnects one from reality, leading to wasted life. **In simple terms:** Dreaming too much stalls real life. Key Takeaway Balance imagination with action. Themes dreams reality self‑deception Mood contemplative inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative pursuits - goal setting - mindfulness - career planning Key Concepts psychology existentialism time Questions to Reflect On - What dreams have you postponed? - How can imagination serve practical goals? A Different Perspective Dreams can inspire, not replace lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/dreams-are-true-while-they-last-and-do-we-not-live-in-dreams/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Don't live in dreams, Don't live in past, A way to live forever, Is living in other's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/don-t-live-in-dreams-don-t-live-in-past-a-way-to-live-forever-is/) Senoraroy > [I live in my dreams — that's what you sense. Other people live in dreams, but not in their own. That's the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-live-in-my-dreams-that-s-what-you-sense-other-people-live-in-dreams/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I want to let myself die and live in dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-cruz/i-want-to-let-myself-die-and-live-in-dreams/) [Angie Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-cruz/) > [There is will in the thought, there is none in the dream. The dream, which is completely spontaneous, takes and keeps, even in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-will-in-the-thought-there-is-none-in-the-dream-the-dream/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“I don't know much about spirits. I live in my dreams--that's what you sense. 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My first love will always be fiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-me-movies-and-television-are-interesting-because-they-are-the/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [In seventh grade, with some vague sense that I wanted to be a writer, I crouched in the junior high school library stacks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/in-seventh-grade-with-some-vague-sense-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“There would seem to be nothing more obvious, more tangible and palpable than the present moment. And yet it eludes us completely. All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/there-would-seem-to-be-nothing-more-obvious-more-tangible-and/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [People sometimes ask who I would cast in my books and I never have any idea. I don't think I could ever write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/people-sometimes-ask-who-i-would-cast-in-my-books-and-i-never-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“A writer needs four things to achieve greatness, Pasquale: desire, disappointment, and the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/a-writer-needs-four-things-to-achieve-greatness-pasquale-desire/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Life, he thought, is a blatant act of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/life-he-thought-is-a-blatant-act-of-imagination/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“And Pasquale forced himself to look away from her then. 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought: you dream this and you dream that and you sleep right through your life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jess Walter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dreams-he-thought-you-dream/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dreams-he-thought-you-dream/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ff/jess-walter-2228_dream_this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dr_2148698.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ff/jess-walter-2228_dream_this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dr_2148698.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ff/jess-walter-2228_dream_this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dr_2148698.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought: you dream this and you dream that and you sleep…” — Jess Walter", "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": "Jess Walter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This is what happens when you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dreams-he-thought-you-dream/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-what-happens-when-you-live-in-dreams-he-thought-you-dream/#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 } } ] } ```