--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What other people call dark and…" description: "\"What other people call dark and despairing, I call funny.\" — David Sedaris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/david-sedaris-333_comedy_what-other-people-call-dark-and-despairi_1873033.png" --- # What other people call dark and despairing, I call funny. ![“What other people call dark and despairing, I call funny.” quote by David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/david-sedaris-333_comedy_what-other-people-call-dark-and-despairi_1873033.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/david-sedaris-333_comedy_what-other-people-call-dark-and-despairi_1873033.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/david-sedaris-333_comedy_what-other-people-call-dark-and-despairi_1873033.png) > “What other people call dark and despairing, I call funny.” [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding humor in bleakness reframes suffering, making it more bearable and relatable. **In simple terms:** Turn darkness into laughter. Key Takeaway Seek humor in hardship. Themes resilience humor perspective Mood wry reflective Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - mental health - social commentary - writing practice Key Concepts cognitive reframing emotional coping creative expression Questions to Reflect On - What pain can you reframe humorously? - When does humor risk minimizing seriousness? A Different Perspective Humor may not suit all serious situations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark Despairing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-despairing-2597166/) [Despairing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despairing/) [Despairing Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despairing-funny-2597165/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Lord, I fashion dark gods, too, Daring even to give You Dark despairing features](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/countee-cullen/lord-i-fashion-dark-gods-too-daring-even-to-give-you-dark-despairing/) [Countee Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/countee-cullen/) > [“The angel descended when you were least expecting it. Tracy felt something quietly go click in his despairing heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/the-angel-descended-when-you-were-least-expecting-it-tracy-felt/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) > [I don't think that people are disinterested or uninterested in politics. I think very often they are disengaged from the formal political process. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bercow/i-don-t-think-that-people-are-disinterested-or-uninterested-in/) [John Bercow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bercow/) > [Newman cast a despairing glance at his small store of fuel, but, not having the courage to say no-a word which in all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/newman-cast-a-despairing-glance-at-his-small-store-of-fuel-but-not/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Despairing of love and of chastity, I at last bethought myself of debauchery, a substitute for love, which quiets the laughter, restores silence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/despairing-of-love-and-of-chastity-i-at-last-bethought-myself-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Love makes you strong when others are weak, brave when others are scared, hopeful when others are despairing and cheerful when others are sad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/love-makes-you-strong-when-others-are-weak-brave-when-others-are/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Paradoxically, the only thing that helps when I'm feeling despairing about writing is to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/paradoxically-the-only-thing-that-helps-when-i-m-feeling-despairing/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [If I place love above everything, it is because for me it is the most desperate, the most despairing state of affairs imaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/if-i-place-love-above-everything-it-is-because-for-me-it-is-the-most/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“Once you believe that god is not a private property of anybody, you are on your way to becoming a new messiah. Maybe your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/once-you-believe-that-god-is-not-a-private-property-of-anybody-you/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [All my work shares a kind of balance between black comedy and sad and despairing melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcdonagh/all-my-work-shares-a-kind-of-balance-between-black-comedy-and-sad-and/) [Martin McDonagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcdonagh/) > [I hope that the kind reader recognises this as a despairing attempt at humour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-springer/i-hope-that-the-kind-reader-recognises-this-as-a-despairing-attempt/) [Nancy Springer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-springer/) > [I don't keep from despairing. I let myself despair. I just don't linger there for too long. There's too much to laugh about, two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/i-don-t-keep-from-despairing-i-let-myself-despair-i-just-don-t-linger/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [“A despairing arse will never produce a happy fart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frater-u-d/a-despairing-arse-will-never-produce-a-happy-fart/) [Frater U.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frater-u-d/) > [First, I thought, almost despairing, This must crush my spirit now; Yet I bore it, and am bearing- Only do not ask me how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/first-i-thought-almost-despairing-this-must-crush-my-spirit-now-yet-i/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. 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Out there with your thumb in the air—not a care in the world, just grabbing whatever you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-just-take-and-take-don-t-you-out-there-with-your-thumb-in-the-air/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [In other parts of the country people tried to stay together for the sake of the children. In New York they tried to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/in-other-parts-of-the-country-people-tried-to-stay-together-for-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [My boyfriend got me a computer three years ago. I'll admit it does make things a lot easier. When I was working on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/my-boyfriend-got-me-a-computer-three-years-ago-i-ll-admit-it-does/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I spent months searching for some secret code before I realized that common sense has nothing to do with it. 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