"Le rêveur ne peut connaître aucune vérité, même pas celle de son rêve, qu'en se réveillant."
— George Santayana
Simplified Meaning:
When you are dreaming, you don't realize that what you're experiencing isn't real. It's only when you wake up that you understand it was just a dream. For instance, think about when you're imagining something in your head, like if you're daydreaming about having superpowers. While you're lost in that thought, it feels exciting and real in your mind. But only when you stop daydreaming and come back to reality do you realize it was just a fantasy. In a similar way, to truly understand what's true and what's not, you need to "wake up" from your illusions or fantasies. This can apply to life decisions or goals. If someone is stuck in a bad job but keeps telling themselves it will get better without making changes, they won't know the truth of their situation until they step back and see things clearly. To really know what's going on in our lives, we sometimes need to take a break from our usual thoughts and look at things with fresh eyes. This helps us make better decisions and understand our reality better.