--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In dreams the truth is learned that all…" description: "\"In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress.\" — Leonard Cohen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/leonard-cohen-448_absence_in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all_1702086.jpg" --- # In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are… ![“In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress.” quote by Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/leonard-cohen-448_absence_in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all_1702086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/leonard-cohen-448_absence_in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all_1702086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/leonard-cohen-448_absence_in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all_1702086.jpg) > “In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress.” [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dreams reveal truths that are expressed through subtle, often unnoticed acts of kindness, suggesting that love’s impact is felt most when unobserved. **In simple terms:** Love’s true work is done quietly. Key Takeaway Value unseen kindness. Themes love dreams humility Mood contemplative poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative writing - therapy - mindfulness Key Concepts subtlety truth compassion Questions to Reflect On - How can you recognize hidden kindness? - What does a “caress” symbolize in your life? A Different Perspective Unseen acts may be ignored or undervalued. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Absence Caress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence-caress-1160530/) [Caress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caress/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-truth-781444/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) [Truth Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-learned-893613/) ## Related quotes > [“The Song Of The Happy Shepherd The woods of Arcady are dead, And over is their antique joy; Of old the world on dreaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-song-of-the-happy-shepherd-the-woods-of-arcady-are-dead-and-over/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Lies build dreams the truth... shatters them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lies-build-dreams-the-truth-shatters-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What do you mean, You have No Dreams? The Truth is, you have No Courage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vineet-raj-kapoor/what-do-you-mean-you-have-no-dreams-the-truth-is-you-have-no-courage/) [Vineet Raj Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vineet-raj-kapoor/) > [Nor seek, for this is also sooth, To hunger fiercely after truth, Lest all thy toiling only breeds New dreams, new dreams; there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/nor-seek-for-this-is-also-sooth-to-hunger-fiercely-after-truth-lest/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Some dreams never leave you, because they’re more than just dreams. They’re truth, distilled to purest potency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-hodge/some-dreams-never-leave-you-because-they-re-more-than-just-dreams/) [Brian Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-hodge/) > [“In dreams, you will find the truth. In dreams, you will find a way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/in-dreams-you-will-find-the-truth-in-dreams-you-will-find-a-way/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [We like to pretend it is hard to follow our heart's dreams. The truth is, it is difficult to avoid walking through the many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-like-to-pretend-it-is-hard-to-follow-our-heart-s-dreams-the-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But who will dare to speak the truth out clear? The few who anything of truth have learned, And foolishly did not keep truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/but-who-will-dare-to-speak-the-truth-out-clear-the-few-who-anything/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“There’s no such thing as truth, that’s what I learned,” she said. “Only opinions people want you to believe as truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-stevens/there-s-no-such-thing-as-truth-that-s-what-i-learned-she-said-only/) [Taylor Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-stevens/) > [To have suffered ... sets a keen edge on what remains of the agreeable. This is a great truth and has to be learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-have-suffered-sets-a-keen-edge-on-what-remains-of-the-agreeable/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Karl remembered his great truth, learned in the project: Never pass by a chance to shut up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/karl-remembered-his-great-truth-learned-in-the-project-never-pass-by/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“To whomever she speaks, African students on the shores of Lake Victoria, farmers in a Cuban sugar field, prisoners in an English penitentiary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/to-whomever-she-speaks-african-students-on-the-shores-of-lake/) [Corrie ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [Knowledge goes hand-in-hand with truth - something I learned with a bit of tough love from my Jesuit education first at Regis High School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fauci/knowledge-goes-hand-in-hand-with-truth-something-i-learned-with-a-bit/) [Anthony Fauci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fauci/) > [In the end the great truth will have been learned that the quest is greater than what is sought, the effort finer that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/in-the-end-the-great-truth-will-have-been-learned-that-the-quest-is/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) > [Truth has power. And if we all gravitate toward similar ideas, maybe we do so because those ideas are true...written deep within us. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/truth-has-power-and-if-we-all-gravitate-toward-similar-ideas-maybe-we/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) ## More by Leonard Cohen > [The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold and it's overturned the order of the soul...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/the-blizzard-of-the-world-has-crossed-the-threshold-and-it-s/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Don't matter if you're rich and strong Don't matter if you're weak Don't matter if you write a song The nightingales repeat Don't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/don-t-matter-if-you-re-rich-and-strong-don-t-matter-if-you-re-weak/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“You don't know me from the wind you never will, you never did I'm the little jew who wrote the Bible. I've seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/you-don-t-know-me-from-the-wind-you-never-will-you-never-did-i-m-the/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“This is it I’m not coming after you I’m going to lie down for half an hour This is it I’m not going down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/this-is-it-i-m-not-coming-after-you-i-m-going-to-lie-down-for-half-an/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [My sense of proprietorship has been so weak that actually I didn't pay attention and I lost the copyrights on a lot of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/my-sense-of-proprietorship-has-been-so-weak-that-actually-i-didn-t/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can... reconcile and embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/this-world-is-full-of-conflicts-and-full-of-things-that-cannot-be/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [ I would say the hummingbird really deserves the royalties on \[some of my songs\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-would-say-the-hummingbird-really-deserves-the-royalties-on-some-of/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [One is given to self-dramatization from time to time. I intend to live forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/one-is-given-to-self-dramatization-from-time-to-time-i-intend-to-live/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [The basic function of popular music is to create an environment for courting, lovemaking, and doing the dishes. It's useful because it addresses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/the-basic-function-of-popular-music-is-to-create-an-environment-for/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Blessed are you, embrace of the falling, foundation of the light, master of the human accident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/blessed-are-you-embrace-of-the-falling-foundation-of-the-light-master/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I continually blacken pages and scribble away, so I always have a number of songs that are half-finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-continually-blacken-pages-and-scribble-away-so-i-always-have-a/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I have nothing against the Queen of England. Even in my heart I never resented her for not being Jackie Kennedy. She is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-have-nothing-against-the-queen-of-england-even-in-my-heart-i-never/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I loved you when you opened like a lily to the heat; you see I’m just another snowman standing in the rain and sleet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-loved-you-when-you-opened-like-a-lily-to-the-heat-you-see-i-m-just/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [It's time that we began to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/it-s-time-that-we-began-to-laugh-and-cry-and-cry-and-laugh-about-it/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“I followed the course From chaos to art Desire the horse Depression the cart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-followed-the-course-from-chaos-to-art-desire-the-horse-depression/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) [Explore all 543 Leonard Cohen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leonard Cohen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all-good-works-are-done-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all-good-works-are-done-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/leonard-cohen-448_absence_in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all_1702086.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/leonard-cohen-448_absence_in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all_1702086.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/leonard-cohen-448_absence_in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all_1702086.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress.” — Leonard Cohen", "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": "Leonard Cohen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In dreams the truth is learned...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all-good-works-are-done-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/in-dreams-the-truth-is-learned-that-all-good-works-are-done-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```