Waking life is a dream controlled.

George Santayana is a titan of philosophy, and is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the early 20th century. As a professor at Harvard, he taught many famous students, including W.E.B. du Bois, T.S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein, and his perspective as a Spanish American immigrant gave him unique insights into American culture. Today, Santayana is best known for his well-crafted nuggets of wisdom (such as the famous refrain “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”). With the quote above, the philosopher suggests that what we consider our reality is merely our perception of it, and that truth is more akin to the chaos experienced within dreams.