--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought maybe if I stared hard enough…" description: "\"“I thought maybe if I stared hard enough, I could see the lights of the city I had left so very far behind. This was nonsense, of course, but there's n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/lemony-snicket-663_staring-out-the-wind_i-thought-maybe-if-i-stared-hard-enough_940939.jpg" --- # I thought maybe if I stared hard enough, I could see the… ![“I thought maybe if I stared hard enough, I could see the lights of the city I had left so very far behind. This was nonsense, of course, but there's nothing wrong with occasionally staring out the window and thinking nonsense, as long as the nonsense is yours.” quote by Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/lemony-snicket-663_staring-out-the-wind_i-thought-maybe-if-i-stared-hard-enough_940939.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/lemony-snicket-663_staring-out-the-wind_i-thought-maybe-if-i-stared-hard-enough_940939.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/lemony-snicket-663_staring-out-the-wind_i-thought-maybe-if-i-stared-hard-enough_940939.jpg) > ““I thought maybe if I stared hard enough, I could see the lights of the city I had left so very far behind. This was nonsense, of course, but there's nothing wrong with occasionally staring out the window and thinking nonsense, as long as the nonsense is yours.”” [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects that daydreaming about distant places is harmless if it remains personal, offering a brief escape from reality. **In simple terms:** Daydreaming about far places is okay if it’s personal. Key Takeaway Allow yourself harmless, personal daydreams. Themes imagination escapism self‑reflection Mood whimsical reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - lonely evenings - creative writing - travel planning - stress relief Key Concepts literary humor nostalgia personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - What personal fantasies help you cope? - When do daydreams hinder action? A Different Perspective Daydreams can become escapist avoidance if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Maybe Stared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe-stared-1608292/) [Stared Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stared-hard-1608294/) [Staring out the window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-out-the-window/) [Staring Window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-window-478956/) [Thinking Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-nonsense-1608293/) [Window Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/window-thinking-1138405/) ## Related quotes > [...there's nothing wrong with occasionally staring out the window and thinking nonsense, as long as the nonsense is yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-occasionally-staring-out-the-window-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My favorite pastime is staring out the window. When I go on tour, I can spend hours and hours just staring out the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/my-favorite-pastime-is-staring-out-the-window-when-i-go-on-tour-i-can/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [What no wife of a writer understands is that a writer is working when he's staring out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-rascoe/what-no-wife-of-a-writer-understands-is-that-a-writer-is-working-when/) [Burton Rascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-rascoe/) > [My idea of a productive day, as both a child and an adult, was reading for hours and staring out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/my-idea-of-a-productive-day-as-both-a-child-and-an-adult-was-reading/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [I'm doing one of three things: I'm writing. I'm staring out the window. Or I'm writhing on the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/i-m-doing-one-of-three-things-i-m-writing-i-m-staring-out-the-window/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [I used to think I was unstable, because I had this thirst for something. I could never figure out what it was. I couldn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-used-to-think-i-was-unstable-because-i-had-this-thirst-for/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [“And I’m left staring out the window, watching District 12 disappear, with all my good-byes still hanging on my lips.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/and-i-m-left-staring-out-the-window-watching-district-12-disappear/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Staring out the window. Waiting for life to stop. Cus everything I been through. Never seems to let up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jmsn/staring-out-the-window-waiting-for-life-to-stop-cus-everything-i-been/) [JMSN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jmsn/) > [“Where once September seemed merely and quietly odd, staring out the window during Mathematics lectures and reading big colorful books under her desk during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/where-once-september-seemed-merely-and-quietly-odd-staring-out-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Whenever I see my cat staring out the window I sit behind him and whisper, look Simba, everything the light touches is our kingdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-telman/whenever-i-see-my-cat-staring-out-the-window-i-sit-behind-him-and/) [Alex Telman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-telman/) > [“I stared out the window for the rest of the journey. Building, tree, car, car, van, wall, vacant lot, van. I stared hard, trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-stared-out-the-window-for-the-rest-of-the-journey-building-tree-car/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [I stared hard, trying to find a pattern. Thinking if I kept looking hard enough, maybe the pieces of the world would fit back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-stared-hard-trying-to-find-a-pattern-thinking-if-i-kept-looking/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“Sitting by the window I was thinking What changed so fastly Me or the city...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irfa-rahat/sitting-by-the-window-i-was-thinking-what-changed-so-fastly-me-or-the/) [Irfa Rahat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irfa-rahat/) > [I like to put my iPad on the window and leave it there for however long the journey is, so that I'm staring out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-albarn/i-like-to-put-my-ipad-on-the-window-and-leave-it-there-for-however/) [Damon Albarn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-albarn/) > [There could not have been a lovelier sight; but there was none to see it except a little boy who was staring in at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-could-not-have-been-a-lovelier-sight-but-there-was-none-to-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Lemony Snicket > [“Nevermore Tree was gargantuan, a word which here means 'having attained an inordinate amount of botanical volume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/nevermore-tree-was-gargantuan-a-word-which-here-means-having-attained/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“But even if they could go home it would be difficult for me to tell you what the moral of the story is. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/but-even-if-they-could-go-home-it-would-be-difficult-for-me-to-tell/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Their adventure would be exciting and memorable like being chased by a werewolf through a field of thorny bushes at midnight with nobody around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/their-adventure-would-be-exciting-and-memorable-like-being-chased-by/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“I am very, very sorry to leave you hanging like that, but as I was writing the tale of the Baudelaire orphans, I happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/i-am-very-very-sorry-to-leave-you-hanging-like-that-but-as-i-was/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“being skeptical is a good thing for a journalist, because it means you don't completely trust anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/being-skeptical-is-a-good-thing-for-a-journalist-because-it-means-you/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Baudelaire children had a slightly different”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/baudelaire-children-had-a-slightly-different/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“To those who hadn't been around Violet long, nothing would have seemed unusual, but those who knew her well knew that when she tied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/to-those-who-hadn-t-been-around-violet-long-nothing-would-have-seemed/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity," Sunny said, which you will probably recall means something along the lines of "I must admit I don’t have the faintest idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity-sunny-said-which-you-will/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Behind these two booths was an enormous roller coaster, a phrase which here means “a series of small carts where people can sit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/behind-these-two-booths-was-an-enormous-roller-coaster-a-phrase-which/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“All these things are miracles. It is a miracle if you can find true friends, and it is a miracle if you have enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/all-these-things-are-miracles-it-is-a-miracle-if-you-can-find-true/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Uncle Monty tell”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/uncle-monty-tell/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“As you and I listen to Uncle Monty tell the three Baudelaire orphans that no harm will ever come to them in the Reptile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/as-you-and-i-listen-to-uncle-monty-tell-the-three-baudelaire-orphans/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“They tried picturing leaving Uncle Monty and living by themselves, trying to find jobs and take care of each other. It was a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/they-tried-picturing-leaving-uncle-monty-and-living-by-themselves/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“To Beatrice- darling, dearest, dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/to-beatrice-darling-dearest-dead/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“The French expression 'cul-de-sac' describes what the Baudelaire orphans found when they reached the end of the dark hallway, and like all French expressions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/the-french-expression-cul-de-sac-describes-what-the-baudelaire/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) [Explore all 384 Lemony Snicket quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) ## More Staring out the window quotes > [“If there was anything that seemed like paradise to me as a kid, it was when I faked my parents into believing I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-martinelli/if-there-was-anything-that-seemed-like-paradise-to-me-as-a-kid-it-was/) [Michael Martinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-martinelli/) > [~I decided that enough is enough, that since you obviously dont care about me anymore I'm just going to move on. Easier said than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/i-decided-that-enough-is-enough-that-since-you-obviously-dont-care/) [She's\_gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/she-s-gone/) > [“I’m not fine. Memphis isn’t fine,” I said as I cast a glance over my shoulder at Memphis who was staring out the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-kennedy/i-m-not-fine-memphis-isn-t-fine-i-said-as-i-cast-a-glance-over-my/) [Sloane Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-kennedy/) > [You know what's amazing? At this second, for every teenage girl twirling her fingers into the end of her hair, not paying attention in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-what-s-amazing-at-this-second-for-every-teenage-girl/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Look at those beautiful villages, in the heart of nature.” Evans was staring out the window but saw only poverty. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/look-at-those-beautiful-villages-in-the-heart-of-nature-evans-was/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I was just sitting on the train, just staring out the window at some cows. It was not the most inspiring subject. When all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-was-just-sitting-on-the-train-just-staring-out-the-window-at-some/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“You remember: countless drives by night, two hours north or south from home to your grandparents’ house and back again, you in the back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-nicholson/you-remember-countless-drives-by-night-two-hours-north-or-south-from/) [Hope Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-nicholson/) > [He was silent for a moment, staring out the window into the rain; I imagined he was contemplating the fact that his family's presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/he-was-silent-for-a-moment-staring-out-the-window-into-the-rain-i/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [...there's nothing wrong with occasionally staring out the window and thinking nonsense, as long as the nonsense is yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-occasionally-staring-out-the-window-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whenever I see my cat staring out the window I sit behind him and whisper, look Simba, everything the light touches is our kingdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-telman/whenever-i-see-my-cat-staring-out-the-window-i-sit-behind-him-and/) [Alex Telman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-telman/) > [“I'm a girl." When Deryn opened her eyes, the lady boffin was staring at her with no change of expression. "Indeed," she said. Deryn's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/i-m-a-girl-when-deryn-opened-her-eyes-the-lady-boffin-was-staring-at/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [My favorite pastime is staring out the window. When I go on tour, I can spend hours and hours just staring out the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/my-favorite-pastime-is-staring-out-the-window-when-i-go-on-tour-i-can/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [Let me tell you about my day. I get up at 8 o'clock in the morning. At 8:30 am, I leave the house and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/let-me-tell-you-about-my-day-i-get-up-at-8-o-clock-in-the-morning-at/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [“Where once September seemed merely and quietly odd, staring out the window during Mathematics lectures and reading big colorful books under her desk during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/where-once-september-seemed-merely-and-quietly-odd-staring-out-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I spend some portion of every day lying supine on a sofa or on my bed staring out the window at the branches of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisyn-camerota/i-spend-some-portion-of-every-day-lying-supine-on-a-sofa-or-on-my-bed/) [Alisyn Camerota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisyn-camerota/) [Browse all 36 Staring out the window quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-out-the-window/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I thought maybe if I stared hard enough, I could see the lights of the city I had left so very far behind. 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