--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical…" description: "\"It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical and myth as real. We do it almost every moment. We do this as we dream, as we think, and as we cope with the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/walker-evans-14813_discontent_it-is-easy-to-imagine-fantasy-as-physica_2374468.png" --- # It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical and myth as… ![“It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical and myth as real. We do it almost every moment. We do this as we dream, as we think, and as we cope with the world about us. But these worlds of fantasy that we form into the solid things around us are the source of our discontent. They inspire our search…” quote by Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/walker-evans-14813_discontent_it-is-easy-to-imagine-fantasy-as-physica_2374468.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/walker-evans-14813_discontent_it-is-easy-to-imagine-fantasy-as-physica_2374468.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/walker-evans-14813_discontent_it-is-easy-to-imagine-fantasy-as-physica_2374468.png) > “It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical and myth as real. We do it almost every moment. We do this as we dream, as we think, and as we cope with the world about us. But these worlds of fantasy that we form into the solid things around us are the source of our discontent. They inspire our search to find ourselves.” [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We constantly turn abstract ideas into concrete realities, which can cause dissatisfaction but also drive self‑discovery. **In simple terms:** Imagining fantasies as real creates both discontent and self‑search. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your mental constructs. Themes perception reality discontent self‑discovery Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - creative work - personal reflection - problem solving - mental health - artistic expression Key Concepts psychology philosophy cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do your fantasies shape your daily decisions? - What steps can you take to balance imagination with reality? A Different Perspective These mental models can limit objective judgment if left unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discontent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fantasy Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-form-3784552/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-fantasy-761726/) [Inspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspire/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-real-3441685/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Physical Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-myth-5859679/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Worlds Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worlds-fantasy-5859680/) ## Related quotes > [Function is a fantasy...the form of designed things is decided by choice or else by chance; but it is never actually entailed by anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pye/function-is-a-fantasy-the-form-of-designed-things-is-decided-by/) [David Pye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pye/) > [“Imagine fantasy and pretend as neither fantastical nor pretended…and then believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/imagine-fantasy-and-pretend-as-neither-fantastical-nor-pretended-and/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“For Americans, the hardest part of paying reparations would not be the outlay of money. It would be acknowledging that their most cherished myth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/for-americans-the-hardest-part-of-paying-reparations-would-not-be-the/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Obviously I have propagated the occasional myth about myself, because the real me, I'm not worth knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-allen/obviously-i-have-propagated-the-occasional-myth-about-myself-because/) [Keith Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-allen/) > [I think sometimes you have to imagine a fantasy world in which we are represented and visible the way we should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/i-think-sometimes-you-have-to-imagine-a-fantasy-world-in-which-we-are/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [You can spend your whole life complaining about how much you hate life or you can spend it finding new ways to love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-complaining-about-how-much-you-hate/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I am profoundly in the D's - discouraged, depressed, disheartened, disgusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/i-am-profoundly-in-the-d-s-discouraged-depressed-disheartened/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [“Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jamie-chung/comparison-with-myself-brings-improvement-comparison-with-others/) [Betty Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jamie-chung/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [“She was tired of the flaming thoughts of discontent that kept her awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-gaffney/she-was-tired-of-the-flaming-thoughts-of-discontent-that-kept-her/) [Virginia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-gaffney/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Walker Evans > [I'm sometimes called a 'documentary photographer' but... a man operating under that definition could take a sly pleasure in the disguise. Very often I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/i-m-sometimes-called-a-documentary-photographer-but-a-man-operating/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [Privilege, if you're very strict, is an immoral and unjust thing to have, but if you've got it you didn't choose to get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/privilege-if-you-re-very-strict-is-an-immoral-and-unjust-thing-to/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [ What I believe is really good in the so-called documentary approach to photography is the addition of lyricism.\[this quality\] is usually produced unconsciously and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/what-i-believe-is-really-good-in-the-so-called-documentary-approach/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [Photography is not cute cats, nor nudes, motherhood or arrangements of manufactured products. Under no circumstances it is anything ever anywhere near a beach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/photography-is-not-cute-cats-nor-nudes-motherhood-or-arrangements-of/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [I used to try to figure out precisely what I was seeing all the time, until I discovered I didn't need to. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/i-used-to-try-to-figure-out-precisely-what-i-was-seeing-all-the-time/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [What America needs is a political revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/what-america-needs-is-a-political-revolution/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [It's the way to educate your eyes. Stare. Pry, listen eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/it-s-the-way-to-educate-your-eyes-stare-pry-listen-eavesdrop-die/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [I think there is a period of esthetic discovery that happens to a man and he can do all sorts of things at white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/i-think-there-is-a-period-of-esthetic-discovery-that-happens-to-a-man/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [Documentary: That’s a sophisticated and misleading word. And not really clear… The term should be documentary style… You see, a document has use, whereas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/documentary-that-s-a-sophisticated-and-misleading-word-and-not-really/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [It is the way to educate your eye and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/it-is-the-way-to-educate-your-eye-and-more-stare-pry-listen-eavesdrop/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [Leaving aside the mysteries and the inequities of human talent, brains, taste, and reputations, the matter of art in photography may come down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/leaving-aside-the-mysteries-and-the-inequities-of-human-talent-brains/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [ Nobody should touch a Polaroid \[camera\] until he's over sixty ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/nobody-should-touch-a-polaroid-camera-until-he-s-over-sixty/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [With the camera, it's all or nothing. You either get what you're after at once, or what you do has to be worthless. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/with-the-camera-it-s-all-or-nothing-you-either-get-what-you-re-after/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [The eye traffics in feelings, not in thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/the-eye-traffics-in-feelings-not-in-thoughts/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [The secret of photography is, the camera takes on the character and personality of the handler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/the-secret-of-photography-is-the-camera-takes-on-the-character-and/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) [Explore all 45 Walker Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) ## More Discontent quotes > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [“She was tired of the flaming thoughts of discontent that kept her awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-gaffney/she-was-tired-of-the-flaming-thoughts-of-discontent-that-kept-her/) [Virginia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-gaffney/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [“Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jamie-chung/comparison-with-myself-brings-improvement-comparison-with-others/) [Betty Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jamie-chung/) > [I am profoundly in the D's - discouraged, depressed, disheartened, disgusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/i-am-profoundly-in-the-d-s-discouraged-depressed-disheartened/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [You can spend your whole life complaining about how much you hate life or you can spend it finding new ways to love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-complaining-about-how-much-you-hate/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I grieve and dare not show my discontent, I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, I do, yet dare not say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-grieve-and-dare-not-show-my-discontent-i-love-and-yet-am-forced-to/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Love is maintain'd by wealth: when all is spent, Adversity then breeds the discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herrick/love-is-maintain-d-by-wealth-when-all-is-spent-adversity-then-breeds/) [Robert Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herrick/) > [Everything becomes so problematic because of basic faults: from a discontent with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-freud/everything-becomes-so-problematic-because-of-basic-faults-from-a/) [Anna Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-freud/) > [“One whisper, Judith, added to a thousand others will become a roar of discontent even”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/one-whisper-judith-added-to-a-thousand-others-will-become-a-roar-of/) [Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/) [Browse all 450 Discontent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is easy to imagine fantasy as physical and myth as real. 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