--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A closet is not a prison cell. There are…" description: "\"“A closet is not a prison cell. There are no bars on the windows, locks on the doors, or shackles binding your feet. The closet door is as easy to open..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/darren-main-4353_closet_a-closet-is-not-a-prison-cell-there-are_3198238.png" --- # A closet is not a prison cell. There are no bars on the… ![“A closet is not a prison cell. There are no bars on the windows, locks on the doors, or shackles binding your feet. The closet door is as easy to open as turning the knob. To turn that knob requires the courage to empty your hands of guilt, shame, and self-loathing. Once you find that courage, you…” quote by Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/darren-main-4353_closet_a-closet-is-not-a-prison-cell-there-are_3198238.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/darren-main-4353_closet_a-closet-is-not-a-prison-cell-there-are_3198238.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/darren-main-4353_closet_a-closet-is-not-a-prison-cell-there-are_3198238.png) > ““A closet is not a prison cell. There are no bars on the windows, locks on the doors, or shackles binding your feet. The closet door is as easy to open as turning the knob. To turn that knob requires the courage to empty your hands of guilt, shame, and self-loathing. Once you find that courage, you will wonder why you waited so long to do it.”” [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The closet symbolizes self‑imposed mental barriers; freeing yourself requires courage to release guilt and shame. **In simple terms:** Courage frees you from self‑imposed limits. Key Takeaway Release guilt, open new possibilities. Themes self‑awareness courage mental health personal growth Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational advice When to use this quote - overcoming trauma - career change - relationship issues Key Concepts psychology self‑help Questions to Reflect On - What guilt holds you back? - How can you practice self‑compassion? A Different Perspective Courage alone may not remove external obstacles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Mindfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindfulness/) [Yoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yoga/) ## Related quotes > [“They got it wrong when they called it “the closet." This was a prison. Solitary confinement. I was locked inside, inside myself, dark and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-peters/they-got-it-wrong-when-they-called-it-the-closet-this-was-a-prison/) [Julie Anne Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-peters/) > [Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/freedom-is-too-enormous-to-be-slipped-under-a-closet-door/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Serious development of the personality begins at the closet door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/serious-development-of-the-personality-begins-at-the-closet-door/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“My closet door wouldn't close. I pushed. I leaned on it. I eventually realized that my bathrobe sleeve was blocking the latch. 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So I could breathe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathe-koja/she-opened-my-closet-door-just-the-tiniest-crack-so-i-could-breathe/) [Kathe Koja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathe-koja/) > [Shifting in the hospital bed had blown her closet door wide open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/shifting-in-the-hospital-bed-had-blown-her-closet-door-wide-open/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“You know...it's like you live your life opening doors. One after the other. 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That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/what-i-can-tell-you-is-that-yoga-is-about-removing-the-muck-by/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Each time we come to savasana, we practice dying—we surrender the body to the earth and prepare for our destiny in this life. Facing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/each-time-we-come-to-savasana-we-practice-dying-we-surrender-the-body/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“All great myths and stories follow a similar pattern. The hero gets distracted and questions his power. He struggles and flounders until he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/all-great-myths-and-stories-follow-a-similar-pattern-the-hero-gets/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Attachment is the act of trying to control, manipulate, or sculpt the outside world in such a way that we lose sight of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/attachment-is-the-act-of-trying-to-control-manipulate-or-sculpt-the/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Most people spend years trying to feng shui their lives—to decorate and reorganize life in such a way that order and peace will finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/most-people-spend-years-trying-to-feng-shui-their-lives-to-decorate/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Yoga gives you the freedom to choose, but it does not guarantee you will choose freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/yoga-gives-you-the-freedom-to-choose-but-it-does-not-guarantee-you/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Guilt is like tarnish on a piece of silver. 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In yoga,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/in-most-forms-of-exercise-one-s-breath-follows-the-movement-the/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) [Explore all 111 Darren Main quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) ## More Closet quotes > [For so long, for my whole life I didn't have to but I lived in the closet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-evans/for-so-long-for-my-whole-life-i-didn-t-have-to-but-i-lived-in-the/) [Scott Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-evans/) > [I own about 300 pairs of shoes. When I start to go over 300, I have mini-sales from my closet and give the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/i-own-about-300-pairs-of-shoes-when-i-start-to-go-over-300-i-have/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) > [I'm not big on the closet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-butler/i-m-not-big-on-the-closet/) [Dan Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-butler/) > [There's a she wolf in the closet, Let it out so it can breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/there-s-a-she-wolf-in-the-closet-let-it-out-so-it-can-breathe/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [It's important for closet gay athletes everywhere, not just at the professional level, but more importantly athletes at the younger level in high school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-fujita/it-s-important-for-closet-gay-athletes-everywhere-not-just-at-the/) [Scott Fujita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-fujita/) > [I feel like I've been shut in a closet, and he's on the other side, and he doesn't have the key to unlock the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-feel-like-i-ve-been-shut-in-a-closet-and-he-s-on-the-other-side-and/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“The truth has a way of coming out of the closet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/march-lions/the-truth-has-a-way-of-coming-out-of-the-closet/) [March Lions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/march-lions/) > [People dance and we have a lot of music and... this might be the closet I get for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-crowe/people-dance-and-we-have-a-lot-of-music-and-this-might-be-the-closet/) [Cameron Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-crowe/) > [The emails and the tweets and the Facebook posts and the fan mail that we get from young people all over America that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-donovan/the-emails-and-the-tweets-and-the-facebook-posts-and-the-fan-mail/) [Trevor Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-donovan/) > [She up in the closet!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madea/she-up-in-the-closet/) [Madea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madea/) > [A lot of the stuff I was on 'All Stars,' it wasn't new, it was all stuff out of my closet and stuff that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chi-chi-devayne/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-was-on-all-stars-it-wasn-t-new-it-was-all-stuff/) [Chi Chi DeVayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chi-chi-devayne/) > [Friends are readily disappointed by the size of my closet. And I thought it was big!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/friends-are-readily-disappointed-by-the-size-of-my-closet-and-i/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [“My closet’s so full of memories and fearful homosexuals that I have nowhere to hang my clothes. Well, that and I don’t know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/my-closet-s-so-full-of-memories-and-fearful-homosexuals-that-i-have/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“We’re not broken. We’re not in the wrong bodies. We’re not inadequate. We’re not lesser. We’re not unwanted. We’re not fraudulent. We’re not undesirable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnostic-zetetic/we-re-not-broken-we-re-not-in-the-wrong-bodies-we-re-not-inadequate/) Agnostic Zetetic > [I've never seen so many sweater sets...are you sure this is a closet and not a portal to the 1950s? -Renee Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desperate-housewives/i-ve-never-seen-so-many-sweater-sets-are-you-sure-this-is-a-closet/) Desperate Housewives Browse all 425 Closet quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A closet is not a prison cell. There are no bars on the windows, locks on the doors, or shackles binding your feet. The closet door is as easy to open as turning the knob. To turn that knob requires the courage to empty your hands of guilt, shame, and self-loathing. 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