--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Q: What’s hard for you? A: Mostly I…" description: "\"Q: What’s hard for you? A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/tom-waits-916_blind_q-what-s-hard-for-you-a-mostly-i-straddl_1362648.jpg" --- # Q: What’s hard for you? A: Mostly I straddle reality and… ![“Q: What’s hard for you? A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. Math is hard. Reading a map. Following orders. Carpentry. Electronics. Plumbing. Remembering things…” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/tom-waits-916_blind_q-what-s-hard-for-you-a-mostly-i-straddl_1362648.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/tom-waits-916_blind_q-what-s-hard-for-you-a-mostly-i-straddl_1362648.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90c/tom-waits-916_blind_q-what-s-hard-for-you-a-mostly-i-straddl_1362648.jpg) > “Q: What’s hard for you? A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. Math is hard. Reading a map. Following orders. Carpentry. Electronics. Plumbing. Remembering things correctly. Straight lines. Sheet rock. Finding a safety pin. Patience with others. Ordering in Chinese. Stereo instructions in German.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing imagination with practical tasks is challenging; creative mind often clashes with mundane skills. **In simple terms:** Creative mind vs. practical tasks. Key Takeaway Embrace both sides, practice needed skills. Themes creativity practicality self-awareness Mood reflective determined Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - artistic work - daily chores - learning new languages - handyman tasks Key Concepts cognitive dissonance skill development Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate imagination into routine tasks? - What practical skill would you most like to master? A Different Perspective Balancing imagination can hinder focus on details. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Bulbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bulbs/) [Carpentry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpentry/) [Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese/) [Following orders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following-orders/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [My imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-imagination/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) ## Related quotes > [My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/my-reality-needs-imagination-like-a-bulb-needs-a-socket-my/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Mostly, I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/mostly-i-straddle-reality-and-the-imagination-my-reality-needs/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The red tape for family members who want to speak to a loved one is a reality, ... The warehousing of prisoners is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bullock/the-red-tape-for-family-members-who-want-to-speak-to-a-loved-one-is-a/) Christopher Bullock > [“Fiction has to be well researched, properly conceived and logically presented. Reality needs none of the above.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoj-vaz/fiction-has-to-be-well-researched-properly-conceived-and-logically/) [Manoj Vaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manoj-vaz/) > [You don't know reality until someone makes a fiction of it. Reality needs the completion of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wilson/you-don-t-know-reality-until-someone-makes-a-fiction-of-it-reality/) [Tony Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wilson/) > [“Distrust the book which reads too easily because such writing appeals more to the senses than to the intellect. Hard reading exercises the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-marquand/distrust-the-book-which-reads-too-easily-because-such-writing-appeals/) [John P. Marquand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-marquand/) > [Hard writing makes easy reading. Easy writing makes hard reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/hard-writing-makes-easy-reading-easy-writing-makes-hard-reading/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [“To be the best, you have to be willing to do what nobody does. And today, if nobody reads and nobody works hard, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/to-be-the-best-you-have-to-be-willing-to-do-what-nobody-does-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Easy writings curse is hard reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/easy-writings-curse-is-hard-reading/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Easy writing makes hard reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/easy-writing-makes-hard-reading/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Easy writing's curst hard reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/easy-writing-s-curst-hard-reading/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [“When a kid struggles at math, instead of saying, “Maybe math isn’t one of your strengths,” Dweck recommends, “The feeling of math being hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-a-kid-struggles-at-math-instead-of-saying-maybe-math-isn-t-one/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [No wonder Sherlock Holmes did all that coke. Math is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/no-wonder-sherlock-holmes-did-all-that-coke-math-is-hard/) [Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/) > [“If You Think Math is Hard Try Web Design”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-parr/if-you-think-math-is-hard-try-web-design/) [Trish Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-parr/) > [Math was always hard for me, but my dad would come up with ways of making it fun. I remember playing 'Number Munchers' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-numrich/math-was-always-hard-for-me-but-my-dad-would-come-up-with-ways-of/) [Seth Numrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-numrich/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Q: What’s hard for you? A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. Math is hard. Reading a map. Following orders. Carpentry. 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