If you imagine yourself as a sleeping city, it suggests a state of quiet contemplation and internal activity. Just like a city at rest, your mind and body can be seen as bustling with ongoing processes, such as volition, desire, will, cognition, passion, and conation—different aspects of human thought and emotion that continue to operate beneath the surface.

Durrell's quote emphasizes that even in stillness, there is a vibrant inner world at work. Recognizing these hidden processes can help us understand the complexity of our inner lives and the continuous flow of thoughts and feelings that shape our experiences, much like watchful activity in a sleeping city is quietly shaping its waking atmosphere.