--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do you think I'm deaf?\" the deaf beggar…" description: "\"“Do you think I'm deaf?\" the deaf beggar asked. \"I'm not deaf at all. It's just that it isn't worth hearing a whole world full of people complaining ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/dara-horn-27319_whole-world_do-you-think-i-m-deaf-the-deaf-beggar-as_2206835.jpg" --- # Do you think I'm deaf?" the deaf beggar asked. "I'm not… ![“Do you think I'm deaf?" the deaf beggar asked. "I'm not deaf at all. It's just that it isn't worth hearing a whole world full of people complaining about what they lack." He told the story of a wealthy country where people believed they were living 'the good life.' The country had a garden of…” quote by Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/dara-horn-27319_whole-world_do-you-think-i-m-deaf-the-deaf-beggar-as_2206835.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/dara-horn-27319_whole-world_do-you-think-i-m-deaf-the-deaf-beggar-as_2206835.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/dara-horn-27319_whole-world_do-you-think-i-m-deaf-the-deaf-beggar-as_2206835.jpg) > ““Do you think I'm deaf?" the deaf beggar asked. "I'm not deaf at all. It's just that it isn't worth hearing a whole world full of people complaining about what they lack." He told the story of a wealthy country where people believed they were living 'the good life.' The country had a garden of riches, of so many sights and smells and sounds that the people in the country literally lost their senses, spoiled by everything they had already seen and heard and smelled and tasted and touched, until the beggar taught them how to use their senses again.”” [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We become numb when excess drowns our senses; humility restores perception. **In simple terms:** Too much can blind us. Key Takeaway Seek simplicity. Themes materialism humility perception Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - consumer culture - wealthy societies - personal mindfulness - education - healthcare Key Concepts existentialism sensory overload Questions to Reflect On - What senses have you ignored? - How can you rediscover them? A Different Perspective Simplicity may be impractical for some needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-life/) [People Complaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-complaining/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) ## Related quotes > [We do need more deaf people in Hollywood. But I don't think that deaf people always have to play a deaf role. 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When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-shaara/a-dangerous-thing-for-any-state-to-maintain-its-power-by-plugging-up/) [Jeff Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-shaara/) > [“People are always complaining that life's not fair, but that simply isn't true. Life is extraordinarily fair. It's just not centered on you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-marie-sager/people-are-always-complaining-that-life-s-not-fair-but-that-simply/) Lynn Marie Sager > [“They could hear people complaining; one surly voice said, "I can't see no gas..." "That's because it's colorless," said Ginny in a convincingly exasperated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/they-could-hear-people-complaining-one-surly-voice-said-i-can-t-see/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [On our Web site, we have people complaining about us not playing new stuff. 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As far as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-get-a-lot-of-people-complaining-about-my-ambiguity-often-in-cases/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [As soon as the printing press started flooding Europe with books, people were complaining that there were too many books and that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/as-soon-as-the-printing-press-started-flooding-europe-with-books/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [When you are single, the only people complaining about music volume are the neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-single-the-only-people-complaining-about-music-volume/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think people are experiencing superhero fatigue. Do you hear people complaining that there are too many action movies? I think it's good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pena/i-don-t-think-people-are-experiencing-superhero-fatigue-do-you-hear/) [Michael Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pena/) > [Weirdly, the people complaining about the healthcare website not working after three weeks were quiet about the Iraq war not working after eight years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-borowitz/weirdly-the-people-complaining-about-the-healthcare-website-not/) [Andy Borowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-borowitz/) ## More by Dara Horn > [The wicked will run to the iron bridge, but it will collapse under their weight. The righteous will cross the paper bridge, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/the-wicked-will-run-to-the-iron-bridge-but-it-will-collapse-under/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“I believe that when people die, they go to the same place as all the people who haven’t yet been born. That’s why it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/i-believe-that-when-people-die-they-go-to-the-same-place-as-all-the/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“Ben, everything is going to get better," he heard her say in the void. "Really. It has to get better, because it can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/ben-everything-is-going-to-get-better-he-heard-her-say-in-the-void/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [Love your fellow, and not just those who agree with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/love-your-fellow-and-not-just-those-who-agree-with-you/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [And the reward when good people die - her mother paused, swallowed, paused again - the reward when good people die is that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/and-the-reward-when-good-people-die-her-mother-paused-swallowed/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [Time itself is created through deeds of true kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/time-itself-is-created-through-deeds-of-true-kindness/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“There is a moment that has happened over and over again, in every place children have ever slept, on every dark night for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/there-is-a-moment-that-has-happened-over-and-over-again-in-every/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“Hair in darkness doesn’t feel the way it does in light. In light, you can touch a person’s hair and not feel it at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/hair-in-darkness-doesn-t-feel-the-way-it-does-in-light-in-light-you/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“School is a terrible place, I have decided. There is nothing good about it except for math class. Everything else is a total waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/school-is-a-terrible-place-i-have-decided-there-is-nothing-good-about/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [Children are often envied for their supposed imaginations, but the truth is that adults imagine things far more than children do. Most adults wander…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/children-are-often-envied-for-their-supposed-imaginations-but-the/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“She didn’t know exactly when she had first felt the sensation of regret. It was a physical sensation, a shudder that began deep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/she-didn-t-know-exactly-when-she-had-first-felt-the-sensation-of/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“But there is also something inherently shameful in the rescuer-rescued relationship - the humiliation of being reduced to depending on another person for survival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/but-there-is-also-something-inherently-shameful-in-the-rescuer/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“...she smiled - and time was created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/she-smiled-and-time-was-created/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“His dreams contained no stories at all, but only the hard stones of thoughts: the unimaginably unlikely coincidence of being alive at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/his-dreams-contained-no-stories-at-all-but-only-the-hard-stones-of/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [“What makes the soul who it is, if not the choices the person makes while he’s alive?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/what-makes-the-soul-who-it-is-if-not-the-choices-the-person-makes/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) [Explore all 18 Dara Horn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) ## More Deaf quotes > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [“The rich eat life, the poor eat death; so what is the problem they ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-rich-eat-life-the-poor-eat-death-so-what-is-the-problem-they-ask/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [My girlfriend and I went to a dinner party the other night and we ended up playing charades. There was another couple there that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-galifianakis/my-girlfriend-and-i-went-to-a-dinner-party-the-other-night-and-we/) [Zach Galifianakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-galifianakis/) > [In other restaurants you'll see employees signing to each other, since we also hire many deaf men and women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-karcher/in-other-restaurants-you-ll-see-employees-signing-to-each-other-since/) [Carl Karcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-karcher/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/must-whales-and-dolphins-be-subjected-to-deafening-noise-that-will/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [I will love you till a mute women tells his deaf friend about a blind women that saw a girl with no legs walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-love-you-till-a-mute-women-tells-his-deaf-friend-about-a-blind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And the blind man said to the deaf man, "Do you see what I hear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/and-the-blind-man-said-to-the-deaf-man-do-you-see-what-i-hear/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Most profoundly deaf people have speech that is very difficult to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/most-profoundly-deaf-people-have-speech-that-is-very-difficult-to/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [But people who think they can project themselves into deafness are mistaken because you can't. And I'm not talking about imagining what a deaf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/but-people-who-think-they-can-project-themselves-into-deafness-are/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [There's none as deaf as those who won't listen. I get letters. If they are moronic, they go in the wastepaper basket, but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/there-s-none-as-deaf-as-those-who-won-t-listen-i-get-letters-if-they/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [Even though I am nearly deaf, I seem to be gifted with a kind of inner hearing which enables me to detect sounds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/even-though-i-am-nearly-deaf-i-seem-to-be-gifted-with-a-kind-of-inner/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) Browse all 854 Deaf quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Do you think I'm deaf?\" the deaf beggar asked. \"I'm not deaf at all. It's just that it isn't worth hearing a whole world full of people complaining about what they lack.\" He told the story of a wealthy country where people believed they were living 'the good life.' 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