--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Magic is what we invent when we want…" description: "\"Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we cant have.\" — Sarah Addison Allen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/sarah-addison-allen-810_cant_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_1493693.png" --- # Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we… ![“Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we cant have.” quote by Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/sarah-addison-allen-810_cant_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_1493693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/sarah-addison-allen-810_cant_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_1493693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/sarah-addison-allen-810_cant_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_1493693.png) > “Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we cant have.” [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity fills the gap when desires seem unattainable, turning imagination into a substitute for the impossible. **In simple terms:** Imagination replaces the impossible. Key Takeaway Create to cope. Themes creativity desire imagination Mood hopeful inspirational Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - goal setting - artistic expression - self‑help Key Concepts psychology of desire creative coping Questions to Reflect On - What do you invent when faced with lack? - Can imagination become a crutch? A Different Perspective Imagined solutions may not address real needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cant/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent/) [Invent Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent-want-2605513/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Magic Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic-invent-5039247/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-something/) [Want Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-think/) ## Related quotes > [“Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we can't have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-something-we-think-we-can-t-have/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [I want you to invent it. I want you to have that skill. To create your own reality. Your own set of laws. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-want-you-to-invent-it-i-want-you-to-have-that-skill-to-create-your/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [It is just as likely that as I invent what I want to say, you will invent what you want to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-is-just-as-likely-that-as-i-invent-what-i-want-to-say-you-will/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I've been falsely accused of drawing too much from real life. But I am a petty thief - I take little things. And, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-ve-been-falsely-accused-of-drawing-too-much-from-real-life-but-i-am/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Please understand 1 thing, if u want something all you have to do is think it into existence. It may manifest immediately, it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mod-sun/please-understand-1-thing-if-u-want-something-all-you-have-to-do-is/) [Mod Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mod-sun/) > [“Walk with me, hand in hand through the neon and styrofoam. Walk the razor blades and the broken hearts. Walk the fortune and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/walk-with-me-hand-in-hand-through-the-neon-and-styrofoam-walk-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I cannot assume you will understand me. It is just as likely that as I invent what I want to say, you will invent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-cannot-assume-you-will-understand-me-it-is-just-as-likely-that-as-i/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Love is something you cant invent, no matter how much you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/love-is-something-you-cant-invent-no-matter-how-much-you-want-to/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [We put out real hip-hop at a time when it was turning into pop or R&B ... We brought the focus back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/we-put-out-real-hip-hop-at-a-time-when-it-was-turning-into-pop-or-r-b/) [RZA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [Consumers around the world always want something unexpected and exciting, and that's what drives me. I love the challenge of reinterpreting my designs in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-hilfiger/consumers-around-the-world-always-want-something-unexpected-and/) [Tommy Hilfiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-hilfiger/) > [If you want something and don't get it, there are only two reasons. You either really didn't want it, or you tried to bargain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/if-you-want-something-and-don-t-get-it-there-are-only-two-reasons-you/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Love asks for nothing. Only personalities want something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/love-asks-for-nothing-only-personalities-want-something/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [I want something from Daddy that he is not able to give me. ... It is only that I long for Daddy's real love:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-want-something-from-daddy-that-he-is-not-able-to-give-me-it-is-only/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [I would like whispering with someone who is like me. But no one is.I think it is because my sizzle doesn't match anyone else's.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bird/i-would-like-whispering-with-someone-who-is-like-me-but-no-one-is-i/) [Sarah Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bird/) > [I just want to make a tray of good tofu. If people want something else, they should go to the restaurants and shops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasujiro-ozu/i-just-want-to-make-a-tray-of-good-tofu-if-people-want-something-else/) [Yasujiro Ozu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasujiro-ozu/) ## More by Sarah Addison Allen > [“It feels like he's taken your heart, doesn't it?…Like he's reached in and pulled it out from you. And I bet he smiles like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/it-feels-like-he-s-taken-your-heart-doesn-t-it-like-he-s-reached-in/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Sitting at the old patio table she’d cleared of leaves, she smiled and leaned back. The stars looked twisted in the limbs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sitting-at-the-old-patio-table-she-d-cleared-of-leaves-she-smiled-and/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Nothing is really broke, so it's not like I can fix it. I just have to keep trying to find what I'm looking for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/nothing-is-really-broke-so-it-s-not-like-i-can-fix-it-i-just-have-to/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Sometimes people who had been together for a long time got to imagining that things used to be better, even when they weren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sometimes-people-who-had-been-together-for-a-long-time-got-to/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“There was such a feeling of peace around them, it was soft and pink and smelled of butter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/there-was-such-a-feeling-of-peace-around-them-it-was-soft-and-pink/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“The two giant oaks in the front yard looked like flustered ladies caught mid-curtsy, their starched green leaf-dresses swaying in the wind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/the-two-giant-oaks-in-the-front-yard-looked-like-flustered-ladies/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Men. You can't live with them, you can't shoot them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/men-you-can-t-live-with-them-you-can-t-shoot-them/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“After awhile, all the men wanted his opinion, and all the girls were in love with him. He made certain of it. Because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/after-awhile-all-the-men-wanted-his-opinion-and-all-the-girls-were-in/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [People adapt. People change. You can grow where you're planted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/people-adapt-people-change-you-can-grow-where-you-re-planted/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She wasn’t sure exactly when it happened when she had realized that she could only make one of them happy. She only knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-wasn-t-sure-exactly-when-it-happened-when-she-had-realized-that/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [I'll give you one day at a time, Claire. But remember, I'm thousands of days ahead already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/i-ll-give-you-one-day-at-a-time-claire-but-remember-i-m-thousands-of/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She opened her eyes slowly and saw that a pale lavender moth had come to a rest on the back of her hand. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-opened-her-eyes-slowly-and-saw-that-a-pale-lavender-moth-had-come/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [How could someone with a life this full feel this empty?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/how-could-someone-with-a-life-this-full-feel-this-empty/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Her life was monotonous, but it kept her out of trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/her-life-was-monotonous-but-it-kept-her-out-of-trouble/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She knew him in that way you can only know a person you remember as a child, like if you cracked away the adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-knew-him-in-that-way-you-can-only-know-a-person-you-remember-as-a/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) [Explore all 362 Sarah Addison Allen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) ## More Cant quotes > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. 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Stick to that, and you cant go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/be-comfortable-be-you-whats-most-important-is-to-understand-what/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [I would go to different production houses everyday for auditions and they would reject me saying you cant talk, smile, dance, or act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-tamboli/i-would-go-to-different-production-houses-everyday-for-auditions-and/) [Nikki Tamboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-tamboli/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [We can all agree that government cant solve the obesity crisis alone. Its an ongoing issue that will require a collaborative effort across private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-samuelsson/we-can-all-agree-that-government-cant-solve-the-obesity-crisis-alone/) [Marcus Samuelsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-samuelsson/) > [There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/there-is-nothing-of-permanent-value-putting-aside-a-few-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [When your house is on fire, you cant be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in Chess, if your King is under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/when-your-house-is-on-fire-you-cant-be-bothered-with-the-neighbors-or/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [There are people I would like to work with. Its a bit harder, because I live out in the sticks anyway, and plus being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wyatt/there-are-people-i-would-like-to-work-with-its-a-bit-harder-because-i/) [Robert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wyatt/) > [One thing that I think never goes out of style is just purity. Niceness and purity. And the Muppets have never lost that. Kermit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-segel/one-thing-that-i-think-never-goes-out-of-style-is-just-purity/) [Jason Segel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-segel/) > [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Life is full of censorship. 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