--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's wrong with living in a dream…" description: "\"What's wrong with living in a dream world? You have to wake up.\" — Sue Monk Kidd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/sue-monk-kidd-404_dream_what-s-wrong-with-living-in-a-dream-worl_115965.png" --- # What's wrong with living in a dream world? You have to… ![“What's wrong with living in a dream world? You have to wake up.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/sue-monk-kidd-404_dream_what-s-wrong-with-living-in-a-dream-worl_115965.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/sue-monk-kidd-404_dream_what-s-wrong-with-living-in-a-dream-worl_115965.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/sue-monk-kidd-404_dream_what-s-wrong-with-living-in-a-dream-worl_115965.png) > “What's wrong with living in a dream world? You have to wake up.” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living in an idealized fantasy is acceptable, but reality demands occasional awakening to act responsibly. **In simple terms:** Dreams are fine; wake up when needed. Key Takeaway Balance imagination with practical awareness. Themes dreams reality self‑awareness Mood playful thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - creative brainstorming - stress relief - decision making Key Concepts psychological escapism groundedness Practical Applications - schedule reality checks - use imagination as a tool, not a crutch Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when imagination becomes avoidance? - What rituals help you transition between dreaming and acting? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on waking up can stifle creative flow and joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dream world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-world/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Every time I shot back, What's wrong with living in a dream world? And she'd say, You have to wake up. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/every-time-i-shot-back-what-s-wrong-with-living-in-a-dream-world-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We dream of the world we could have made, and wake up in the world that we did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stone/we-dream-of-the-world-we-could-have-made-and-wake-up-in-the-world/) [Craig Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stone/) > [When I was young, my father told me I was living in a dream world. At the time, he was trying to straighten me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-kimbrough/when-i-was-young-my-father-told-me-i-was-living-in-a-dream-world-at/) [Will Kimbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-kimbrough/) > [“The tragedy of our age is that a greater percentage of people living today are only living in the dream world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-tragedy-of-our-age-is-that-a-greater-percentage-of-people-living/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Good night. Sleep well. Don't fret. World will be same when you wake up tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-night-sleep-well-don-t-fret-world-will-be-same-when-you-wake-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The loudest sigh in the world would never wake him up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-loudest-sigh-in-the-world-would-never-wake-him-up/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [There is nothing more important you can ever do for this world than to wake up and be a part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/there-is-nothing-more-important-you-can-ever-do-for-this-world-than/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [Giving up, Letting go. Always in the wrong, Always, Always doing somthing wrong, Always Always no living to peoples expectations, Well, I live my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theshadowofhell/giving-up-letting-go-always-in-the-wrong-always-always-doing-somthing/) TheShadowOfhell > [“There is Right---and there is Wrong…You do One, and YOU ARE LIVING…You do the Other---and You may be walking around---But---YOU are as Dead as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-american-hero-john-wayne/there-is-right-and-there-is-wrong-you-do-one-and-you-are-living-you/) the - American Hero John Wayne > [“The fact remains that getting people right is not what living is all about anyway. It's getting them wrong that is living, getting them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-fact-remains-that-getting-people-right-is-not-what-living-is-all/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“You get them wrong before you meet them, while you're anticipating meeting them; you get them wrong while you're with them; and then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-get-them-wrong-before-you-meet-them-while-you-re-anticipating/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The fact remains that getting people right is not what living is all about anyway. It's getting them wrong that is living, getting them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-fact-remains-that-getting-people-right-is-not-what-living-is-all-2/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“No, if your life is without pain and anger and desperation then you are living it all wrong. You are not living at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-hick/no-if-your-life-is-without-pain-and-anger-and-desperation-then-you/) [Shaun Hick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-hick/) > [What's wrong with living our own lives instead of other peoples lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naquitta-faith/what-s-wrong-with-living-our-own-lives-instead-of-other-peoples-lives/) [Naquitta Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naquitta-faith/) > [I'm living a dream I never want to wake up from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristiano-ronaldo/i-m-living-a-dream-i-never-want-to-wake-up-from/) [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristiano-ronaldo/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. For them I dove with arms outstretched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-mermaids-came-to-me-finally-in-the-pink-hours-of-my-life-they-are/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [I eventually found that the soul is more than an immortal commodity to win and save. It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Dream quotes > [“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/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [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/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [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/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What's wrong with living in a dream world? 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