--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the situation is desperate, it is…" description: "\"When the situation is desperate, it is too late to be serious. Be playful.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/edward-abbey-254_desperate_when-the-situation-is-desperate-it-is-to_268519.png" --- # When the situation is desperate, it is too late to be… ![“When the situation is desperate, it is too late to be serious. Be playful.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/edward-abbey-254_desperate_when-the-situation-is-desperate-it-is-to_268519.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/edward-abbey-254_desperate_when-the-situation-is-desperate-it-is-to_268519.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/edward-abbey-254_desperate_when-the-situation-is-desperate-it-is-to_268519.png) > “When the situation is desperate, it is too late to be serious. Be playful.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In desperate times, seriousness fails; playfulness restores perspective and resilience. **In simple terms:** Playfulness helps when seriousness fails. Key Takeaway Embrace humor in crisis. Themes crisis playfulness resilience Mood lighthearted inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - stressful work projects - personal emergencies - creative problem solving Key Concepts psychology of coping philosophy of leisure Questions to Reflect On - When have you used humor to defuse tension? - Can playfulness coexist with responsibility? A Different Perspective Playfulness may be seen as inappropriate in some cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) [Playful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playful/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [“And suddenly, as he noted the fine shades of manner by which she harmonized herself with her surroundings, it flashed on him that, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/and-suddenly-as-he-noted-the-fine-shades-of-manner-by-which-she/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“The international situation is desperate, as usual.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-international-situation-is-desperate-as-usual/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“She was in a situation that was desperate enough to allow her life to be manipulated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandra-torre/she-was-in-a-situation-that-was-desperate-enough-to-allow-her-life-to/) [Alessandra Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandra-torre/) > [The tragedy of today is that the situation is desperate but the saints are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/the-tragedy-of-today-is-that-the-situation-is-desperate-but-the/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [Be a half-assed crusader, a part-time fanatic. Don't worry to much about the fate of the world. Saving the world is only a hobby.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/be-a-half-assed-crusader-a-part-time-fanatic-don-t-worry-to-much/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Play in curiosity is where everything happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zuckerman/play-in-curiosity-is-where-everything-happens/) [Andrew Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zuckerman/) > [I remember from my school days Archimedes jumping into his bath and displacing water and coming up with his famous principle, and of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsh/i-remember-from-my-school-days-archimedes-jumping-into-his-bath-and/) [James Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsh/) > [Play cannot be defined, because in play all definitions slither, dance, combine, break apart, and recombine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/play-cannot-be-defined-because-in-play-all-definitions-slither-dance/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [The playfulness that I talk about comes very slowly. You cannot just jump out of your seriousness which you have accumulated for lives. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-playfulness-that-i-talk-about-comes-very-slowly-you-cannot-just/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The playful search for beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/the-playful-search-for-beauty/) [Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/) > [The opposite of play is not work—the opposite of play is depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-play-is-not-work-the-opposite-of-play-is-depression/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think Deborah Harry has a really sexy, cool and quite playful sex-kitten kind of style I really like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/i-think-deborah-harry-has-a-really-sexy-cool-and-quite-playful-sex/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [I'm always trying to have a good time on set because that's when things happen. That's when you're playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-always-trying-to-have-a-good-time-on-set-because-that-s-when/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) > [My preference is for people who come to rehearsal and get into the ring. I like a muscular actor who's playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantello/my-preference-is-for-people-who-come-to-rehearsal-and-get-into-the/) [Joe Mantello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantello/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Desperate quotes > [Marriage is a desperate thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/marriage-is-a-desperate-thing/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [“I am a desperate romantic. I love the idea of random collisions of the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-thompson/i-am-a-desperate-romantic-i-love-the-idea-of-random-collisions-of-the/) [Jessica Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-thompson/) > [Worship isn't destructive, Martin. I know that. I don't. I only know it's the core of his life. What else has he got? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [“Really? I'm trying to place you. It seems like we've met before." Did I just issue him a pick up line? Fantastic, I've now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/really-i-m-trying-to-place-you-it-seems-like-we-ve-met-before-did-i/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [Never be desperate. Get rid of your insecurities. Know your worth. Believe in yourself and go get what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-be-desperate-get-rid-of-your-insecurities-know-your-worth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She was stupid and lonely. So desperate to be touched and loved with a good love. I need you, don't leave me, you're all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-bane/she-was-stupid-and-lonely-so-desperate-to-be-touched-and-loved-with-a/) [Lucian Bane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-bane/) > [You mostly know that you want to be funny, know that you have the desire. It's not like people who grow up beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/you-mostly-know-that-you-want-to-be-funny-know-that-you-have-the/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [I had to smile when stories emerged questioning whether I was gay. Obviously I knew I wasn't but people were curiously desperate to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/i-had-to-smile-when-stories-emerged-questioning-whether-i-was-gay/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [The World Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/the-world-health-organisation-has-a-lot-of-its-medical-experts/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I know it's a film and all of that, and it's a Hollywood film, but it kind of feels like this sometimes, when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-marber/i-know-it-s-a-film-and-all-of-that-and-it-s-a-hollywood-film-but-it/) [Patrick Marber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-marber/) > [“you think I"m that desperate?" "The raging hard-on jabbing at me says yes." ~Creed/Annika”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-croft/you-think-i-m-that-desperate-the-raging-hard-on-jabbing-at-me-says/) [Sydney Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-croft/) > [Along with a livable wage, many parents are desperate for quality affordable child care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gillibrand/along-with-a-livable-wage-many-parents-are-desperate-for-quality/) [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gillibrand/) > [As a player, if a club is desperate to sign you, then you can benefit from that. Desperate clubs are prepared to pay more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-forlan/as-a-player-if-a-club-is-desperate-to-sign-you-then-you-can-benefit/) [Diego Forlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-forlan/) [Browse all 1,618 Desperate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the situation is desperate, it is too late to be serious. 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