--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...we hunger for other worlds. We long to…" description: "\"“...we hunger for other worlds. We long to go beyond the streets we know, beyond our familiar woods and fields, and into the land of Faerie; to Middle-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/sarah-arthur-7184_longing_we-hunger-for-other-worlds-we-long-to-go_3158191.jpg" --- # ...we hunger for other worlds. We long to go beyond the… ![“...we hunger for other worlds. We long to go beyond the streets we know, beyond our familiar woods and fields, and into the land of Faerie; to Middle-earth, Narnia, or Summerland; to the kingdom east of the sun and west of the moon. This longing isn’t incidental.” quote by Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/sarah-arthur-7184_longing_we-hunger-for-other-worlds-we-long-to-go_3158191.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/sarah-arthur-7184_longing_we-hunger-for-other-worlds-we-long-to-go_3158191.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/sarah-arthur-7184_longing_we-hunger-for-other-worlds-we-long-to-go_3158191.jpg) > ““...we hunger for other worlds. We long to go beyond the streets we know, beyond our familiar woods and fields, and into the land of Faerie; to Middle-earth, Narnia, or Summerland; to the kingdom east of the sun and west of the moon. This longing isn’t incidental.”” [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans have an innate desire to escape reality and explore fantastical realms, reflecting a deep psychological need for wonder and meaning. **In simple terms:** People crave magical places beyond everyday life. Key Takeaway Embrace imagination to enrich life. Themes imagination escapism mythology longing Mood dreamy inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - childhood play - mental health coping - cultural storytelling Key Concepts psychology fantasy literature creative yearning Questions to Reflect On - What does your favorite fantasy world reveal about you? - How can imagination solve real problems? A Different Perspective Excessive escapism can hinder engagement with real-world issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) ## Related quotes > [Witch, do this for me, Find me a moon made of longing. Then cut it sliver thin, and having cut it, hang it high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/witch-do-this-for-me-find-me-a-moon-made-of-longing-then-cut-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The restlessness and the longing, like the longing that is in the whistle of a faraway train. Except that the longing isn't really in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meindert-dejong/the-restlessness-and-the-longing-like-the-longing-that-is-in-the/) Meindert DeJong > [Longing, for everyone, is always there, isn't it? More intense at some times than others. You get closer to less longing - an odd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/longing-for-everyone-is-always-there-isn-t-it-more-intense-at-some/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [The myths and legends about Faerie are many and diverse, and often contradictory. Only one thing is certain - that nothing is certain. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-froud/the-myths-and-legends-about-faerie-are-many-and-diverse-and-often/) [Brian Froud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-froud/) > [Every place but that in which one is born is equally strange and wondrous. Once beyond the bounds of the city walls, and none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-jacobs/every-place-but-that-in-which-one-is-born-is-equally-strange-and/) [Joseph Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-jacobs/) > [“Until the longing came again, like the longing that you hear in the whistle of a train that is going far away. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meindert-dejong/until-the-longing-came-again-like-the-longing-that-you-hear-in-the/) Meindert DeJong > [A rare objectivity and insight can be imparted regarding this world's struggle for spiritual integrity. In the land of Faerie, the reader may see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-rare-objectivity-and-insight-can-be-imparted-regarding-this-world-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My only enemy is the miles of distance that's there between us, my favorite place is the road that leads me to you -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/my-only-enemy-is-the-miles-of-distance-that-s-there-between-us-my/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“She pretended not to notice the look of longing in his eyes. It didn’t mean anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-brien/she-pretended-not-to-notice-the-look-of-longing-in-his-eyes-it-didn-t/) Kevin O'Brien > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## More by Sarah Arthur > [“every church can treat each discipleship class and each worship service as an opportunity for continual rehearsal of what the words, stories, symbols, rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/every-church-can-treat-each-discipleship-class-and-each-worship/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. The eternal truths of the Kingdom aren’t altered or affected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/just-because-your-faith-is-shaken-doesn-t-mean-the-faith-is-shaken/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“Storytelling is our task with the next generation, and it starts with loving the story ourselves and telling it as though we believe it—because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/storytelling-is-our-task-with-the-next-generation-and-it-starts-with/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; which means that if the rest of us want to get close to God, we seek them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/the-lord-is-close-to-the-brokenhearted-which-means-that-if-the-rest/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“There’s nothing more ridiculously juvenile than people thinking they have to be grown up and serious when it comes to living the Christian life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/there-s-nothing-more-ridiculously-juvenile-than-people-thinking-they/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“if there is no light by which we see, no Great Story that illumines our days—and no Storyteller—then we have no source by which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/if-there-is-no-light-by-which-we-see-no-great-story-that-illumines/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“Since all the world is but a story, it were well for thee to buy the more enduring story, rather than the story that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/since-all-the-world-is-but-a-story-it-were-well-for-thee-to-buy-the/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“For me, reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.”16”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/for-me-reason-is-the-natural-organ-of-truth-but-imagination-is-the/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“Tell me a story,” says the poem by Robert Penn Warren. “In this century, and moment, of mania . . . Tell me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/tell-me-a-story-says-the-poem-by-robert-penn-warren-in-this-century/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“If imagination, as we’ve said, is the “region of discovery,” story is the wardrobe door, sending our young people “further in” and “still further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/if-imagination-as-we-ve-said-is-the-region-of-discovery-story-is-the/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“While the Witch plays her pawn, the King sacrifices Himself, and to all appearances, the game is over. But the Lion has one last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/while-the-witch-plays-her-pawn-the-king-sacrifices-himself-and-to-all/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“In short, you can’t have the truths without the Truth. Either Jesus is telling the truth about Himself, or He is lying about everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/in-short-you-can-t-have-the-truths-without-the-truth-either-jesus-is/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“confirmation is one of the most important and serendipitous storytelling opportunities we in youth ministry will ever have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/confirmation-is-one-of-the-most-important-and-serendipitous/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“Like fish, when metaphors get old, they go bad,” writes Christian poet Jeanne Murray Walker,9 and nowhere is that more apparent than among Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/like-fish-when-metaphors-get-old-they-go-bad-writes-christian-poet/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“from a Wesleyan perspective, we can easily see how the imagination is one of the ways the Holy Spirit works preveniently in our lives—before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/from-a-wesleyan-perspective-we-can-easily-see-how-the-imagination-is/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) [Explore all 94 Sarah Arthur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) ## More Longing quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She pretended not to notice the look of longing in his eyes. It didn’t mean anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-brien/she-pretended-not-to-notice-the-look-of-longing-in-his-eyes-it-didn-t/) Kevin O'Brien > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“My only enemy is the miles of distance that's there between us, my favorite place is the road that leads me to you -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/my-only-enemy-is-the-miles-of-distance-that-s-there-between-us-my/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Do the kind of things that come from the heart, When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-the-kind-of-things-that-come-from-the-heart-when-you-do-you-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And how do you really feel? Like I'll never recover. Like I'll never draw another breath without half of it being a wish for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seville/and-how-do-you-really-feel-like-i-ll-never-recover-like-i-ll-never/) [Jane Seville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seville/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [The greatest tales, well told, awaken the fears and longings of the listeners. Each man hears a different story. Each is touched by it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/the-greatest-tales-well-told-awaken-the-fears-and-longings-of-the/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) [Browse all 2,553 Longing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...we hunger for other worlds. We long to go beyond the streets we know, beyond our familiar woods and fields, and into the land of Faerie; to Middle-earth, Narnia, or Summerland; to the kingdom east of the sun and west of the moon. 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