Reality is merely an illusion, albeit¹ a very persistent² one.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), (attributed)

Everything is a dangerous drug except reality, which is unendurable.

Cyril Connolly (1903 - 1974), "The Unquiet Grave", 1945

You bluffed³ me! I don't like it when people bluff⁴ me. It makes me question my perception of reality.

Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Cicely, 1992

Set up as an ideal the facing of reality as honestly and as cheerfully as possible.

Dr. Karl Menninger (1893 - 1990)

Joel: That's the movies, Ed. Try reality.

Ed: No thanks.

Ellen Herman, Northern Exposure, Only You, 1991

I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.

Garrison⁵ Keillor (1942 - )

The real distinction is between those who adapt their purposes to reality and those who seek to mold reality in the light of their purposes.

Henry Kissinger (1923 - )

Realism...has no more to do with reality than anything else.

Hob Broun

Reality is nothing but a collective hunch⁶.

Jane Wagner, Lily Tomlin in "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe"

Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it.

Jane Wagner, (and Lily Tomlin)

Important days don't look like anything special when they start. Invariably, the sun rises and people wake up. Coffee is swilled⁷ and eggs are swallowed. Everybody goes about the business of acting⁸ like their lives matter and then, no matter how important the events of the day end up being, the sun invariably sets. The sun rose before the soldiers stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day, and the sun set after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed. Sunrises and sunsets are real jerks about putting things in perspective.

Josh Lieb, I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President, 2009

Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.

Jules de Gaultier

Reality is a crutch⁹ for people who can't cope with drugs.

Lily Tomlin (1939 - )

Reality is something you rise above.

Liza Minnelli (1946 - )

I've wrestled¹⁰ with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it.

Mary Chase (1887 - 1973), Jimmy Stewart in "Harvey", 1950

Everything you can imagine is real.

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.

Philip K. Dick (1928 - 1982), "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later", 1978

Humankind cannot stand very much reality.

T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)