--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS…" description: "\"WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF LIFE, THAT’S WHEN THE DARKNESS TAKES OVER.\" — Amanda Palmer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/amanda-palmer-2356_darkness_when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness_1193673.png" --- # WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF LIFE, THAT’S… ![“WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF LIFE, THAT’S WHEN THE DARKNESS TAKES OVER.” quote by Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/amanda-palmer-2356_darkness_when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness_1193673.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/amanda-palmer-2356_darkness_when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness_1193673.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/amanda-palmer-2356_darkness_when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness_1193673.png) > “WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF LIFE, THAT’S WHEN THE DARKNESS TAKES OVER.” [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding humor about life's darkness lets despair dominate; humor is a coping tool. **In simple terms:** Humor fights darkness. Key Takeaway Use humor to confront fear. Themes darkness humor coping mental health Mood candid hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - grief - anxiety - daily stress - creative work Key Concepts psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - When have you used humor to ease pain? - What limits does humor have in serious situations? 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But with music, there are all these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/i-d-actually-say-that-every-musician-is-a-human-being-and-that-not/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [The perfect tools aren't going to help us if we can't face each other and give and receive fearlessly, but more important, to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/the-perfect-tools-aren-t-going-to-help-us-if-we-can-t-face-each-other/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [I had a real come-to-Jesus a couple of years ago when I started to see the direct line between feminism and everything else -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/i-had-a-real-come-to-jesus-a-couple-of-years-ago-when-i-started-to/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [Take on the pain and wear it as a shirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/take-on-the-pain-and-wear-it-as-a-shirt/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [I think I can define my entire life, virtuosity and business philosophy down to the core fundamental that I absolutely hate being told what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/i-think-i-can-define-my-entire-life-virtuosity-and-business/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [I've always been a creative workaholic. I have never had a period of my life where I didn't have at least half a dozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/i-ve-always-been-a-creative-workaholic-i-have-never-had-a-period-of/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) [Explore all 159 Amanda Palmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF LIFE, THAT’S WHEN THE DARKNESS TAKES OVER.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amanda Palmer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness-of-life-that-s-when-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness-of-life-that-s-when-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/amanda-palmer-2356_darkness_when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness_1193673.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/amanda-palmer-2356_darkness_when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness_1193673.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/amanda-palmer-2356_darkness_when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness_1193673.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF LIFE, THAT’S WHEN THE DARKNESS TAKES OVER.” — Amanda Palmer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amanda Palmer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness-of-life-that-s-when-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/when-you-cannot-joke-about-the-darkness-of-life-that-s-when-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```