If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.
James ThurberRead
I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously suggests that sharing one's thoughts can be overwhelming to others, even professionals.
James Thurberβs quote reflects a tongue-in-cheek perspective on the nature of self-disclosure and the impact of one's thoughts on others. By stating he avoids a psychiatrist for fear of disturbing them, he highlights the complexity of human experience and the potential burden of oneβs inner thoughts, wrapped in a layer of humor that invites reflection on how we communicate our struggles.
Themes
PsychiatristThoughtsHumorDisturbanceCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a light-hearted speech about mental health where laughter helps, this quote can break the ice.
More from James Thurber
All quotes βSpeed is scarcely the noblest virtue of graphic composition, but it has its curious rewards. There is a sense of getting somewhere fast, which satisfies a native American urge.
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The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms hollow, heartless, mirthless, maniacal.
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Things have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires; I have lost friends, some by death... others through sheer inability to cross the street.
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The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it.
James ThurberRead
Unless artists can remember what it was to be a little boy, they are only half complete as artist and as man.
James ThurberRead
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