--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It occurs to me that we allow ourselves…" description: "\"It occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine only such messages as we need to survive.\" — Joan Didion" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/joan-didion-497_generosity_it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves_754449.jpg" --- # It occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine only… ![“It occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine only such messages as we need to survive.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/joan-didion-497_generosity_it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves_754449.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/joan-didion-497_generosity_it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves_754449.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/joan-didion-497_generosity_it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves_754449.jpg) > “It occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine only such messages as we need to survive.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We limit our imagination to narratives that ensure survival, restricting creative and emotional possibilities. **In simple terms:** We imagine only what helps us survive, limiting imagination. Key Takeaway Expand thinking beyond survival‑driven narratives. Themes creativity psychology survival imagination limits Mood reflective inspirational critical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal growth - artistic creation - problem solving - decision making Key Concepts cognitive bias self‑preservation narrative framing Questions to Reflect On - What narratives do we ignore for comfort? - How can we nurture imagination beyond fear? A Different Perspective Survival focus may hinder innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes we think we should be able to know everything. But we can’t. We have to allow ourselves to see what there is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/sometimes-we-think-we-should-be-able-to-know-everything-but-we-can-t/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [Sometimes we just have to accept there are things we can’t know. Why is your sister ill? Why did my father die?…Sometimes we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/sometimes-we-just-have-to-accept-there-are-things-we-can-t-know-why/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [We have to allow ourselves to see what there is to see, and we have to imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/we-have-to-allow-ourselves-to-see-what-there-is-to-see-and-we-have-to/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [Its not a fair comparison really. Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive. Peeta and I know the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunger-games/its-not-a-fair-comparison-really-gale-and-i-were-thrown-together-by-a/) [Hunger Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunger-games/) > [I was born without you so obviously I dont need you to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/i-was-born-without-you-so-obviously-i-dont-need-you-to-survive/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) > [“The little you have is the best you need to survive .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-adeagbo/the-little-you-have-is-the-best-you-need-to-survive/) [victor adeagbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-adeagbo/) > [The real question is how do you survive at the same time you pose those risks? Because you need to survive. And it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/the-real-question-is-how-do-you-survive-at-the-same-time-you-pose/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“We all create the stories we need to survive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/we-all-create-the-stories-we-need-to-survive/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [There is pressure that comes with everything being a big deal. I remember thinking, 'I need to survive the Shins. I don't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/there-is-pressure-that-comes-with-everything-being-a-big-deal-i/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [“Everything that terrifies you these monsters that keeps you up at night that torment you that make you feel small breakable unable to breathe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/everything-that-terrifies-you-these-monsters-that-keeps-you-up-at/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) > [I need it to survive. But most specifically, McDonalds Big Mac's and McDoubles (with no pickles).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armie-hammer/i-need-it-to-survive-but-most-specifically-mcdonalds-big-mac-s-and/) [Armie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armie-hammer/) > [“There is a switch within all of us that we can flick from SURVIVE to CONQUER. Even though we need to survive sometimes, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilly-singh/there-is-a-switch-within-all-of-us-that-we-can-flick-from-survive-to/) [Lilly Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilly-singh/) > [I'm sorry if money is always on my mind. It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't what we need to survive now a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-sorry-if-money-is-always-on-my-mind-it-wouldn-t-be-a-problem-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The hardest part of this whole ordeal is not knowing if your children are getting what they need to survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-smith/the-hardest-part-of-this-whole-ordeal-is-not-knowing-if-your-children/) [Susan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-smith/) > [“You act like I need you to survive but I don’t I have plenty of oxygen, thanks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-curtis/you-act-like-i-need-you-to-survive-but-i-don-t-i-have-plenty-of/) [Emily Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-curtis/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Generosity quotes > [The greatest charity you can contribute to is yourself. 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They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/children-must-early-learn-the-the-beauty-of-generosity-they-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was always clear that I didn't want to just do pure charity. My thinking was definitely about looking at the levers in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohini-nilekani/i-was-always-clear-that-i-didn-t-want-to-just-do-pure-charity-my/) [Rohini Nilekani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohini-nilekani/) > [Love doesnt stake claims. 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Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Browse all 3,867 Generosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine only such messages as we need to survive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Didion" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves-to-imagine-only-such-messages/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Generosity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves-to-imagine-only-such-messages/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/joan-didion-497_generosity_it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves_754449.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/joan-didion-497_generosity_it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves_754449.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/joan-didion-497_generosity_it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves_754449.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine only such messages as we need to survive.” — Joan Didion", "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": "Joan Didion", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It occurs to me that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves-to-imagine-only-such-messages/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/it-occurs-to-me-that-we-allow-ourselves-to-imagine-only-such-messages/#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 } } ] } ```