--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Talking, talking. Spinning a web of…" description: "\"Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see.\" — John Gardner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/john-gardner-3092_dreams_talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words_377535.png" --- # Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of… ![“Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see.” quote by John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/john-gardner-3092_dreams_talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words_377535.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/john-gardner-3092_dreams_talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words_377535.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/john-gardner-3092_dreams_talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words_377535.png) > “Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see.” [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes how language creates fragile, dreamlike barriers between self and perception. **In simple terms:** Words form delicate walls separating us from what we see. Key Takeaway Recognize how language shapes perception. Themes communication perception creativity Mood introspective melancholic Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology semiotics subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How do your words build or break barriers? - What dreams do your words protect? A Different Perspective Words can also connect, not just divide. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/words-are-pale-shadows-of-forgotten-names/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Words pale and lose their savor while pain is always new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/words-pale-and-lose-their-savor-while-pain-is-always-new/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Doing leads more surely to talking than talking to doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/doing-leads-more-surely-to-talking-than-talking-to-doing/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [I’d promised myself that I’d really work on talking more, talking about uncomfortable things, because I could see from Brian how well things could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-gilbert-murdock/i-d-promised-myself-that-i-d-really-work-on-talking-more-talking/) [Catherine Gilbert Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-gilbert-murdock/) > [It's not the future I'm talking about, I'm talking about tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gummer/it-s-not-the-future-i-m-talking-about-i-m-talking-about-tomorrow/) [John Gummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gummer/) > [I don't know if it's because of the way we grew up - we just don't like talking about ourselves or talking about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-olsen/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-because-of-the-way-we-grew-up-we-just-don-t-like/) [Ashley Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-olsen/) > [Silence is a learned practice that requires far more than just not talking. Not talking is not silence; it's just not talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/silence-is-a-learned-practice-that-requires-far-more-than-just-not/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [I'm talking to myself because talking to dumb people gets tiring after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-talking-to-myself-because-talking-to-dumb-people-gets-tiring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The moment you have a friend talking with them then next talking about you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike/the-moment-you-have-a-friend-talking-with-them-then-next-talking/) [Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike/) > [“You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-bickle/you-talkin-to-me-you-talkin-to-me-you-talkin-to-me-then-who-the-hell/) Travis Bickle > [You have these kids trying to make these grown up decisions because nobody is talking to them. We're talking at them, but we're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-rel-howery/you-have-these-kids-trying-to-make-these-grown-up-decisions-because/) [Lil Rel Howery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-rel-howery/) > [This may sound a little West Texan to you, but I like it. When I'm talking about.. when I'm talking about myself, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/this-may-sound-a-little-west-texan-to-you-but-i-like-it-when-i-m/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I make sure I know what I'm talking about when I'm talking crap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-make-sure-i-know-what-i-m-talking-about-when-i-m-talking-crap/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No talking. Talking doesn't play football, talking isn't going to make you practice harder or play harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-simonton/no-talking-talking-doesn-t-play-football-talking-isn-t-going-to-make/) Ken Simonton > [“Just like a man,” she says. “Does not know how to be silent, thinks we always want to hear what he has to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/just-like-a-man-she-says-does-not-know-how-to-be-silent-thinks-we/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) ## More by John Gardner > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [When I was a child I truly loved: Unthinking love as calm and deep As the North Sea. But I have lived, And now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/when-i-was-a-child-i-truly-loved-unthinking-love-as-calm-and-deep-as/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“They only think they think. No total vision, total system, merely schemes with a vague family resemblance, no more identity than bridges and, say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/they-only-think-they-think-no-total-vision-total-system-merely/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“Except in stock locutions, such as "You were paid yesterday," "The Germans were defeated," or "The project was abandoned," the passive voice is virtually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/except-in-stock-locutions-such-as-you-were-paid-yesterday-the-germans/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“The instruction here is not for every kind of writer - not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-instruction-here-is-not-for-every-kind-of-writer-not-for-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“Good writers may “tell” about almost anything in fiction except the characters’ feelings. One may tell the reader that the character went to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/good-writers-may-tell-about-almost-anything-in-fiction-except-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“the chief offense in bad fiction: we sense that characters are being manipulated, forced to do things they would not really do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-chief-offense-in-bad-fiction-we-sense-that-characters-are-being/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“There seems little or no hope for the adult writer who produces sentences like these: "Her cheeks were thick and smooth and held a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/there-seems-little-or-no-hope-for-the-adult-writer-who-produces/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“In any long fiction, Henry James remarked, use of the first-person point of view is barbaric. James may go too far, but his point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/in-any-long-fiction-henry-james-remarked-use-of-the-first-person/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [Nothing can be more limiting to the imagination than only writing about what you know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/nothing-can-be-more-limiting-to-the-imagination-than-only-writing/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [A nation that values bad philosophy above good plumbing will have neither good philosophy nor good plumbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/a-nation-that-values-bad-philosophy-above-good-plumbing-will-have/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-citizen-can-bring-our-political-and-governmental-institutions/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“In writing short stories—as in writing novels—take one thing at a time. (For some writers, this advice I'm giving may apply best to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/in-writing-short-stories-as-in-writing-novels-take-one-thing-at-a/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [All order, I've come to understand, is theoretical, unreal, a harmless, sensible, smiling mask men slide between the two great, dark realities, the self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-order-i-ve-come-to-understand-is-theoretical-unreal-a-harmless/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [One of the many interesting challenges nature presents us is its apparent disinterest in maintaining the order humans crave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/one-of-the-many-interesting-challenges-nature-presents-us-is-its/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) [Explore all 138 John Gardner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“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/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“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 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/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Gardner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words-pale-walls-of-dreams-between/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words-pale-walls-of-dreams-between/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/john-gardner-3092_dreams_talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words_377535.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/john-gardner-3092_dreams_talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words_377535.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/john-gardner-3092_dreams_talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words_377535.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see.” — John Gardner", "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": "John Gardner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Talking, talking. Spinning a web of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words-pale-walls-of-dreams-between/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words-pale-walls-of-dreams-between/#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 } } ] } ```