---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You need only to have glimpsed it once to…"
description: "\"“You need only to have glimpsed it once to know there's a window out of all this black and sleepless night. Then you must use it to hope on. Key to the..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/paul-monette-21644_dream_you-need-only-to-have-glimpsed-it-once-t_1296952.jpg"
---

#  You need only to have glimpsed it once to know there's a…

![“You need only to have glimpsed it once to know there's a window out of all this black and sleepless night. Then you must use it to hope on. Key to the dream country where all your people are whole again, and the gunboats can't reach you, and the Empire of Hate is rubble. You and your secret dream…” quote by Paul Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/paul-monette-21644_dream_you-need-only-to-have-glimpsed-it-once-t_1296952.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/paul-monette-21644_dream_you-need-only-to-have-glimpsed-it-once-t_1296952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/paul-monette-21644_dream_you-need-only-to-have-glimpsed-it-once-t_1296952.jpg)

> ““You need only to have glimpsed it once to know there's a window out of all this black and sleepless night. Then you must use it to hope on. Key to the dream country where all your people are whole again, and the gunboats can't reach you, and the Empire of Hate is rubble. You and your secret dream of freedom are the tidal wave. Keep watch, every night if you have to. As for sleeping, you can sleep when you're dead.””

[Paul Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-monette/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A fleeting vision of hope can guide us through darkness, urging us to protect and nurture that hope despite overwhelming oppression.

**In simple terms:** Hope can guide you through dark times.

Key Takeaway

Hold onto hope and protect it.

Themes

hope resistance freedom survival

Mood

determined defiant inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- war zones
- personal crisis
- social movements
- mental health
- activism

Key Concepts

vision tide dream empire oppression

Questions to Reflect On

- What vision of hope can you nurture today?
- How can you protect hope in a hostile environment?

A Different Perspective

Hope may be fragile and can be lost without collective action.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

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> [ \[Making people laugh\] was a secret dream I kept and I didn't tell anybody about it until I was about 18. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-iglesias/making-people-laugh-was-a-secret-dream-i-kept-and-i-didn-t-tell/)

[Gabriel Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-iglesias/)

> [My secret dream has always been to be a jazz musician. I tried the saxophone for a year or two when I was younger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspard-ulliel/my-secret-dream-has-always-been-to-be-a-jazz-musician-i-tried-the/)

[Gaspard Ulliel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspard-ulliel/)

> [Often, the worst way to become prisoner of a system is to have a dream that things may turn better, there is always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/often-the-worst-way-to-become-prisoner-of-a-system-is-to-have-a-dream/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [To be honest I'd just love to keep writing hits for other people... That's kind of my secret dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/to-be-honest-i-d-just-love-to-keep-writing-hits-for-other-people-that/)

[Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/)

> [When I was a student in the '60s, I dreamt of making a house 7 feet by 7 feet, as a dream of freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/when-i-was-a-student-in-the-60s-i-dreamt-of-making-a-house-7-feet-by/)

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[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [That's what we do in this country. That's the American Dream. That's freedom, and I'll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/that-s-what-we-do-in-this-country-that-s-the-american-dream-that-s/)

[Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/)

> [“The American dream of freedom and abundance is just a child’s rendering of true freedom and abundance, and serves only to convince people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mckenna/the-american-dream-of-freedom-and-abundance-is-just-a-child-s/)

[Jed McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mckenna/)

> [For me the dream is the freedom to make all the crazy ideas I have in my head into movies. I truly love directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-ozeki/for-me-the-dream-is-the-freedom-to-make-all-the-crazy-ideas-i-have-in/)

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## More by Paul Monette

> [The problem with secret crushes: in the absence of requital the love turns bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-monette/the-problem-with-secret-crushes-in-the-absence-of-requital-the-love/)

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> [“The first thing you see, directly in front of you, is a dim-lit tunnel receding deep under the island. The tunnel is paved with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-monette/the-first-thing-you-see-directly-in-front-of-you-is-a-dim-lit-tunnel/)

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> [Go without hate, but not without rage. Heal the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-monette/go-without-hate-but-not-without-rage-heal-the-world/)

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> [“How far was that? On March 1 he told us the chest x-ray looked clear, except for a shadow that was probably the pulmonary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-monette/how-far-was-that-on-march-1-he-told-us-the-chest-x-ray-looked-clear/)

[Paul Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-monette/)

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[Paul Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-monette/)

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[Paul Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-monette/)

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[Paul Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-monette/)

[Explore all 28 Paul Monette quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-monette/)

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> [“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/)

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> [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/)

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[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/)

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[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/)

> [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

[Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/)

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