--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our imagination flies -- we are its…" description: "\"Our imagination flies -- we are its shadow on the earth.\" — Vladimir Nabokov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_our-imagination-flies-we-are-its-shadow_730047.jpg" --- # Our imagination flies -- we are its shadow on the earth. ![“Our imagination flies -- we are its shadow on the earth.” quote by Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_our-imagination-flies-we-are-its-shadow_730047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_our-imagination-flies-we-are-its-shadow_730047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_our-imagination-flies-we-are-its-shadow_730047.jpg) > “Our imagination flies -- we are its shadow on the earth.” [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination is a force that casts its influence onto the world, shaping reality like a shadow. **In simple terms:** Imagination shapes reality. Key Takeaway Cultivate imagination to influence your surroundings. Themes creativity perception reality Mood dreamy inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - design - problem solving - leadership Key Concepts psychology philosophy artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does your imagination affect your actions? - Can shadows become reality? A Different Perspective Imagination alone may not change tangible outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Flies Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flies-shadow-5720632/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Flies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-flies-2520196/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Shadow Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow-earth-1362893/) ## Related quotes > [“Methinks that what they call my shadow here on earth is my true substance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/methinks-that-what-they-call-my-shadow-here-on-earth-is-my-true/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“It is just my imagination that flies, While she is wrapped up in her bedsheets like a nest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-woodhull/it-is-just-my-imagination-that-flies-while-she-is-wrapped-up-in-her/) [Kiera Woodhull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-woodhull/) > [The bird Imagination, That flies so far, that dies so soon; Her wings are colored like the sun, Her breast is colored like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-wylie/the-bird-imagination-that-flies-so-far-that-dies-so-soon-her-wings/) [Elinor Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elinor-wylie/) > [“All have a shadow over the earth but no shadow under earth or in grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abidul-huda-chowdhury-suzon/all-have-a-shadow-over-the-earth-but-no-shadow-under-earth-or-in-grave/) [Abidul Huda Chowdhury Suzon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abidul-huda-chowdhury-suzon/) > [I have seen the shadow of the Earth on the moon, and I have more faith in the shadow than in the church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-magellan/i-have-seen-the-shadow-of-the-earth-on-the-moon-and-i-have-more-faith/) [Ferdinand Magellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-magellan/) > [“At the base of the immense pillar, tiny Babylon was in shadow. Then the darkness climbed the tower, like a canopy unfurling upward. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/at-the-base-of-the-immense-pillar-tiny-babylon-was-in-shadow-then-the/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [Half our days we pass in the shadow of the earth; and the brother of death exacteth a third part of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/half-our-days-we-pass-in-the-shadow-of-the-earth-and-the-brother-of/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“For the first time, he knew night for what it was: the shadow of the earth itself, cast against the sky. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/for-the-first-time-he-knew-night-for-what-it-was-the-shadow-of-the/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) > [...that swimming, sloping, elusive something about the dark-bluish tint of the iris which seemed still to retain the shadows it had absorbed of ancient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/that-swimming-sloping-elusive-something-about-the-dark-bluish-tint-of/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/imagination-is-the-real-and-eternal-world-of-which-this-vegetable/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“Copywriting is a design muse, it carves a beautiful masterpiece in an imaginative way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharen-song/copywriting-is-a-design-muse-it-carves-a-beautiful-masterpiece-in-an/) [Sharen Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharen-song/) > [“If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/if-you-can-imagine-it-you-can-create-it-if-you-can-dream-it-you-can/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## More by Vladimir Nabokov > [And the rest is rust and stardust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-the-rest-is-rust-and-stardust/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-no-science-without-fancy-and-no-art-without-fact/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“My solemn exasperation was to her the silence of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-solemn-exasperation-was-to-her-the-silence-of-love/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [ “...under no circumstances would he \[Humbert Humbert\] have interfered with the innocence of a child, if there was the least risk of a row.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/under-no-circumstances-would-he-humbert-humbert-have-interfered-with/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Ami azt illeti, Vannak kezdtek nagyon tetszeni a fák is, a csodák is meg az Adák is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/ami-azt-illeti-vannak-kezdtek-nagyon-tetszeni-a-f-k-is-a-csod-k-is/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things. 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Come on over here, you foolish little doe, and tell me on what day I shall die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-isn-t-possible-i-cannot-imagine-it-come-on-over-here-you-foolish/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Precautions to be taken in the case Of freak reincarnation: what to do On suddenly discovering that you Are now a young and vulnerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/precautions-to-be-taken-in-the-case-of-freak-reincarnation-what-to-do/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [And this is the only immortality you and i may share, my Lolita.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-this-is-the-only-immortality-you-and-i-may-share-my-lolita/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Be true to your Dick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/be-true-to-your-dick/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“It is indeed a tricky name. 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