--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who refuse to look at or give…" description: "\"Those who refuse to look at or give expression to the dark side of life are in denial-fear preventing passage through the door of growth, truth and, ul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/laurence-overmire-11909_dark_those-who-refuse-to-look-at-or-give-expr_990047.jpg" --- # Those who refuse to look at or give expression to the dark… ![“Those who refuse to look at or give expression to the dark side of life are in denial-fear preventing passage through the door of growth, truth and, ultimately, wisdom.” quote by Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/laurence-overmire-11909_dark_those-who-refuse-to-look-at-or-give-expr_990047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/laurence-overmire-11909_dark_those-who-refuse-to-look-at-or-give-expr_990047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/laurence-overmire-11909_dark_those-who-refuse-to-look-at-or-give-expr_990047.jpg) > “Those who refuse to look at or give expression to the dark side of life are in denial-fear preventing passage through the door of growth, truth and, ultimately, wisdom.” [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignoring life's darker aspects leads to fear and blocks personal growth, truth, and wisdom. **In simple terms:** Denial of darkness hinders growth and wisdom. Key Takeaway Face the dark to grow. Themes self‑awareness growth truth wisdom Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal therapy - leadership development - creative writing - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology shadow work existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What dark truth are you avoiding? - How might confronting fear change your path? A Different Perspective Denial can protect fragile ego but may also cause stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-side/) [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Denial Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial-fear-2021601/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-denial-2021602/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Passages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passages/) [Preventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preventing/) [Refuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse/) [Refuse Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse-look-1079911/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“and I saw all over again what comes of pretending that terrible things do not happen. Shame comes with denial. Fear fattens on lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/and-i-saw-all-over-again-what-comes-of-pretending-that-terrible/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“I have refused to believe that Mother will die. And by denying her cancer, even her death, I deny her life. Denial stops us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-have-refused-to-believe-that-mother-will-die-and-by-denying-her/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“War is unlike life. It's a denial of everything you learn life is. And that's why when you get finished with it, you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graff/war-is-unlike-life-it-s-a-denial-of-everything-you-learn-life-is-and/) [Robert Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graff/) > [My life is in denial. And when I die, baptized in eternal fire, I'll shed many tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/my-life-is-in-denial-and-when-i-die-baptized-in-eternal-fire-i-ll/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“To deny one's own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one's own life. It is no less than a denial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-deny-one-s-own-experiences-is-to-put-a-lie-into-the-lips-of-one-s/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Pretty hard to see when you refuse to look. Pretty hard to hear when you refuse to listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bell/pretty-hard-to-see-when-you-refuse-to-look-pretty-hard-to-hear-when/) [Jeff Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bell/) > [“Just because you refuse to acknowledge something, refuse to look at it or think about it, doesn’t mean it’s not there, that it doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-gibson/just-because-you-refuse-to-acknowledge-something-refuse-to-look-at-it/) [Rachel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-gibson/) > [From this moment, I refuse to look back. I'm not going that way anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-this-moment-i-refuse-to-look-back-i-m-not-going-that-way-anymore/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to look bad in a situation where I was the victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scheana-shay/i-refuse-to-look-bad-in-a-situation-where-i-was-the-victim/) [Scheana Shay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scheana-shay/) > [“I refuse to look at him, because he’d probably kiss me and I know absolutely nothing about this guy, other than a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/i-refuse-to-look-at-him-because-he-d-probably-kiss-me-and-i-know/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-people-refuse-to-look-at-you-in-a-new-light-and-they-can-only-see-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is so wearisome having to represent things. That is why I refuse to look at abstract art. It is much too suggestive of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/it-is-so-wearisome-having-to-represent-things-that-is-why-i-refuse-to/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [I refuse to look at life in too negative a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ryder/i-refuse-to-look-at-life-in-too-negative-a-way/) [Sam Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ryder/) > [If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/if-people-refuse-to-look-at-you-in-a-new-light-and-they-can-only-see/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [You cannot drive a system that's going to be aiming at preventing illness if everyone is not in it. The whole gaming of health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-oz/you-cannot-drive-a-system-that-s-going-to-be-aiming-at-preventing/) [Mehmet Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-oz/) ## More by Laurence Overmire > [“As long as we insist on hanging on to our hate, the world will not know peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/as-long-as-we-insist-on-hanging-on-to-our-hate-the-world-will-not/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“All of our ancestors live within each one of us whether we are aware of it or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/all-of-our-ancestors-live-within-each-one-of-us-whether-we-are-aware/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [Real life is never quite as interesting as the story told afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/real-life-is-never-quite-as-interesting-as-the-story-told-afterward/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“We have listened to the voices of hate, the voices of selfish unreason for far too long. 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The creators, the givers, the lovers, the healers - these are the heroes who know - the building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/it-takes-no-genius-to-destroy-the-creators-the-givers-the-lovers-the/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“Extremism is marked by a closed mind and a meanness of spirit - unwilling to listen, unwilling to reason, unwilling to compromise, unwilling to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/extremism-is-marked-by-a-closed-mind-and-a-meanness-of-spirit/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [When you look at a person who's different and see Yourself, then you begin to understand who and what God really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/when-you-look-at-a-person-who-s-different-and-see-yourself-then-you/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [The future is won or lost in the war of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/the-future-is-won-or-lost-in-the-war-of-ideas/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [From generation to generation, lights are extinguished and darkness threatens until some one stoops to bear the torch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/from-generation-to-generation-lights-are-extinguished-and-darkness/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [Expect nothing and accept everything and you will never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/expect-nothing-and-accept-everything-and-you-will-never-be/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“All of our ancestors give us the precious gift of life. Do we use it wisely? Do we use it well? Do we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/all-of-our-ancestors-give-us-the-precious-gift-of-life-do-we-use-it/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/history-remembers-only-the-celebrated-genealogy-remembers-them-all/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [There is no nobler profession, nor no greater calling, than to be among those unheralded many who gave and give their lives to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/there-is-no-nobler-profession-nor-no-greater-calling-than-to-be-among/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [“I don't make much of a living, but I do live much of a making.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/i-don-t-make-much-of-a-living-but-i-do-live-much-of-a-making/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) [Explore all 57 Laurence Overmire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) ## More Dark quotes > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“I could see her will leaving and death seeping through her skin to skewer her soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/i-could-see-her-will-leaving-and-death-seeping-through-her-skin-to/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [The soul wanders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-zimmerman/the-soul-wanders-in-the-dark-until-it-finds-love-and-so-wherever-our/) [Mary Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-zimmerman/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [All comedy comes from a dark place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katt-williams/all-comedy-comes-from-a-dark-place/) [Katt Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katt-williams/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [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/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. 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Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Let death bless me with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-death-bless-me-with-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“what do you call/that space between the dark geographies of sex?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethaway/what-do-you-call-that-space-between-the-dark-geographies-of-sex/) [Natasha Trethaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethaway/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. 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