--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic…" description: "\"“It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic with reality; hard to accept that things we can’t see exist—terrifying, in fact.”\" — Mary Lindsey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/mary-lindsey-22711_reality_it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantasti_494911.jpg" --- # It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic with reality… ![“It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic with reality; hard to accept that things we can’t see exist—terrifying, in fact.” quote by Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/mary-lindsey-22711_reality_it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantasti_494911.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/mary-lindsey-22711_reality_it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantasti_494911.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/mary-lindsey-22711_reality_it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantasti_494911.jpg) > ““It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic with reality; hard to accept that things we can’t see exist—terrifying, in fact.”” [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses the tension between imagination and empirical evidence, noting fear of unseen realities. **In simple terms:** Imagination clashes with unseen realities. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, seek evidence. Themes philosophy science fear Mood curious anxious Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - scientific research - spiritual practice - creative brainstorming Key Concepts epistemology metaphysics cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance wonder with skepticism? - What unseen forces might influence you? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difficult Reconcile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-reconcile-798277/) [Exist Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist-terrifying-4227026/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-hard-1210557/) [Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying/) ## Related quotes > [It is very difficult to reconcile the American ideal of a sovereign people capable of owning and managing their own government with an inability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/it-is-very-difficult-to-reconcile-the-american-ideal-of-a-sovereign/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [The speed of change today is faster than the human psyche seems able to handle, and it's increasingly difficult to reconcile the rhythms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-speed-of-change-today-is-faster-than-the-human-psyche-seems-able/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I understand that not everyone shares my faith and some find it difficult to reconcile with their own beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-folau/i-understand-that-not-everyone-shares-my-faith-and-some-find-it/) [Israel Folau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-folau/) > [I think it's always difficult to reconcile the needs of art and business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lacroix/i-think-it-s-always-difficult-to-reconcile-the-needs-of-art-and/) [Christian Lacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lacroix/) > [It was sometimes difficult to reconcile a man's talents with his personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/it-was-sometimes-difficult-to-reconcile-a-man-s-talents-with-his/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [Now, I find that very difficult to reconcile with notions about a merciful God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/now-i-find-that-very-difficult-to-reconcile-with-notions-about-a/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [...if reality is hard and flat and unjust, then it's better to adjust to what really is than to complain that it isn't what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/if-reality-is-hard-and-flat-and-unjust-then-it-s-better-to-adjust-to/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [Reality is hard. It is no walk in the park, this thing called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-duke/reality-is-hard-it-is-no-walk-in-the-park-this-thing-called-life/) [Patty Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-duke/) > [The reality is, it's a hard game physically, and the older you get, the competitor in you and the player in you obviously want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kelce/the-reality-is-it-s-a-hard-game-physically-and-the-older-you-get-the/) [Jason Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kelce/) > [Trying to escape reality seems hard, but actually it's not because reality is only what the mind wants to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lee-riner/trying-to-escape-reality-seems-hard-but-actually-it-s-not-because/) [Justin Lee Riner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lee-riner/) > [Love is war & reality is hard as it goes by day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sokhom-du/love-is-war-reality-is-hard-as-it-goes-by-day/) [Sokhom Du](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sokhom-du/) > [It's important to remember that what you see on Instagram is not reality. I find it hard to not be on my phone the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-amelia-windsor/it-s-important-to-remember-that-what-you-see-on-instagram-is-not/) [Lady Amelia Windsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-amelia-windsor/) > [How can we not create a fantasy in our minds when the reality is so hard?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/how-can-we-not-create-a-fantasy-in-our-minds-when-the-reality-is-so/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [“We’re committed to the idea that a book has to live in the present . . . but the reality, that’s hard for us to recognise, is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/we-re-committed-to-the-idea-that-a-book-has-to-live-in-the-present/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [In the American Metaphysical, reality is always material reality, hard, resistant, unformed, impenetrable, and unpleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/in-the-american-metaphysical-reality-is-always-material-reality-hard/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) ## More by Mary Lindsey > [“Maddi glared at him. "Thats why your not built like Alden. French fries." Race laughed. "Id love to look like Alden. Hot female speakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/maddi-glared-at-him-thats-why-your-not-built-like-alden-french-fries/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“Wait, Alden. I really don't want to meet your friends dressed like this." "They're your friends too. And you look fantastic. I love the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/wait-alden-i-really-don-t-want-to-meet-your-friends-dressed-like-this/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“Bogeymen or not, I was in love with Alden Thomas, regardless of what name I went by or what demon wanted me dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/bogeymen-or-not-i-was-in-love-with-alden-thomas-regardless-of-what/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [The pain had no ebb or flow. It was a constant ever-increasing knell in my chest, timed to the beating of my broken heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/the-pain-had-no-ebb-or-flow-it-was-a-constant-ever-increasing-knell/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“... it's not possible to truly become desensitized or accustomed to discrimination. It's something one endures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/it-s-not-possible-to-truly-become-desensitized-or-accustomed-to/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“ You need to talk to Alden about your feelings for him, Race said. "You don't know anything about it. Mind your own business,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/you-need-to-talk-to-alden-about-your-feelings-for-him-race-said-you/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“ Hey, Lenzi ... my offer from a century ago still stands. If Alden doesn't treat you right, I'm here for you in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/hey-lenzi-my-offer-from-a-century-ago-still-stands-if-alden-doesn-t/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“My throat tightened when I noticed a small tattoo of an origami rose on his upper arm. . . "Hey, Lenzi," he whispered, barely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/my-throat-tightened-when-i-noticed-a-small-tattoo-of-an-origami-rose/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“Alden walked me to the door and we stood outside uncomfortably---like it was the end of a first date. Was letting a host share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/alden-walked-me-to-the-door-and-we-stood-outside-uncomfortably-like/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“I learned long ago that I couldn't stop it, but if I began to believe the stories, I would become as lost as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/i-learned-long-ago-that-i-couldn-t-stop-it-but-if-i-began-to-believe/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“He rolled me under him to kiss me. It wasn't a gentle kiss like at the beach, or passionate kiss like the one that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/he-rolled-me-under-him-to-kiss-me-it-wasn-t-a-gentle-kiss-like-at-the/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“Something instinctual in me sensed evil in the house. Perhaps it spoke to my own darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/something-instinctual-in-me-sensed-evil-in-the-house-perhaps-it-spoke/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/we-all-hold-a-beast-inside-the-only-difference-is-what-form-it-takes/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“Alden seems like a very nice boy. The kind of boy I'd like to see you hanging out with." I almost laughed out loud.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/alden-seems-like-a-very-nice-boy-the-kind-of-boy-i-d-like-to-see-you/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) > [“I had to be careful. Nothing from the Otherworld was benign, especially something in packaging this attractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/i-had-to-be-careful-nothing-from-the-otherworld-was-benign-especially/) [Mary Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) [Explore all 27 Mary Lindsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/) ## More Reality quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“The universe is not punishing you or blessing you. The universe is simply responding to the vibrational attitude that you are emitting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-hicks/the-universe-is-not-punishing-you-or-blessing-you-the-universe-is/) [Abraham Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-hicks/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [Being under-recruited coming out of Highland, I've carried that with me. I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-daniels/being-under-recruited-coming-out-of-highland-i-ve-carried-that-with/) [Mike Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-daniels/) [Browse all 19,710 Reality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic with reality; hard to accept that things we can’t see exist—terrifying, in fact.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Lindsey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantastic-with-reality-hard-to-accept/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Reality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantastic-with-reality-hard-to-accept/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/mary-lindsey-22711_reality_it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantasti_494911.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/mary-lindsey-22711_reality_it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantasti_494911.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/mary-lindsey-22711_reality_it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantasti_494911.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic with reality; hard to accept that things we can’t see…” — Mary Lindsey", "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": "Mary Lindsey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lindsey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's difficult to reconcile the fantastic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantastic-with-reality-hard-to-accept/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lindsey/it-s-difficult-to-reconcile-the-fantastic-with-reality-hard-to-accept/#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 } } ] } ```