Men speak of dreaming as if it were a phenomenon of night and sleep. They should know better. All results achieved by us are self-promised, and all self-promises are made in dreams awake. Dreaming is the relief of labor,the wine that sustains us in act. We learn to love labor, not for itself, but for the opportunity it furnishes for dreaming, which is the great under-monotone of real life, unheard, unnoticed, because of its constancy. Living is dreaming. Only in the graves are there no dreams.
Interpretation
Dreaming is a vital part of living and achieving, transcending mere night visions.
This quote emphasizes that dreaming is not merely confined to sleep; it is integral to our waking lives and aspirations. Lew Wallace suggests that all our accomplishments originate from our ability to dream while awake, providing motivation and purpose to our labor. The quote also posits that dreaming is essential for a meaningful life, as it sustains our efforts and fuels our passions, highlighting how dreams permeate our existence, making life a continuous journey of aspiration.
In practice
During a motivational speech, one might evoke this quote to inspire creativity and perseverance in a workforce.
I know what I should love to do - to build a study; to write, and to think of nothing else. I want to bury myself in a den of books. I want to saturate myself with the elements of which they are made, and breathe their atmosphere until I am of it. Not a bookworm, being which is to give off no utterances; but a man in the world of writing - one with a pen that shall stop men to listen to it, whether they wish to or not.
No one ever died from smoking marijuana, but millions of people have died by believing politicians.
Every living creature is the son of the supreme Lord, and He does not tolerate even ants being killed
Suddenly absurdism wasn’t an intellectual abstraction, it was actually realism. You could see the way that wealth was begetting wealth, wealth was begetting comfort — and that the cumulative effect of an absence of wealth was the erosion of grace.
You must be a lotus, unfolding its petals when the sun rises in the sky, unaffected by the slush where it is born or even the water which sustains it!
You are my Lord, because You have no need of my goodness.
I've been called a recluse. There's definitely truth in that. I like to spend time alone.
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