--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better to operate with detachment, then…" description: "\"Better to operate with detachment, then; better to have a way but infuse it with a little humor; best, to have no way at all but to have instead the wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/lewis-hyde-19548_comedy_better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-b_3041538.jpg" --- # Better to operate with detachment, then; better to have a… ![“Better to operate with detachment, then; better to have a way but infuse it with a little humor; best, to have no way at all but to have instead the wit constantly to make one's way anew from the materials at hand.” quote by Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/lewis-hyde-19548_comedy_better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-b_3041538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/lewis-hyde-19548_comedy_better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-b_3041538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/lewis-hyde-19548_comedy_better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-b_3041538.jpg) > “Better to operate with detachment, then; better to have a way but infuse it with a little humor; best, to have no way at all but to have instead the wit constantly to make one's way anew from the materials at hand.” [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Detachment paired with humor allows creative renewal from existing resources, whereas rigid paths limit adaptability. **In simple terms:** Humor frees creativity. Key Takeaway Stay flexible, use humor. Themes creativity humor detachment Mood playful reflective Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - artistic work - problem solving - daily routines Key Concepts innovation adaptability resourcefulness Questions to Reflect On - How can humor improve your work? - When does detachment hinder connection? A Different Perspective Humor may mask seriousness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Detachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detachment/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [The more facts I can have, the better. I can operate very nicely between them, but I am not very good at making things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-more-facts-i-can-have-the-better-i-can-operate-very-nicely/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Some sarcasm is best told simply. Some humor is best told big and some is best told small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/some-sarcasm-is-best-told-simply-some-humor-is-best-told-big-and-some/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [Humor is one of the best ingredients of survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/humor-is-one-of-the-best-ingredients-of-survival/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [Good humor is one of the best articles of dress one can wear in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/good-humor-is-one-of-the-best-articles-of-dress-one-can-wear-in/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [To me, sadness and humor aren't disrelated and humor is the best tool I've had against the sadness in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mills/to-me-sadness-and-humor-aren-t-disrelated-and-humor-is-the-best-tool/) [Mike Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mills/) > [“Though the use of humor is one of the best opening techniques, there is a danger in using it if it does not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-a-grippo/though-the-use-of-humor-is-one-of-the-best-opening-techniques-there/) Joseph A. Grippo > [A sense of humor is the best indicator that you will recover; it is often the best indicator that people will love you. Sustain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/a-sense-of-humor-is-the-best-indicator-that-you-will-recover-it-is/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Humor can be one of our best survival tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-klein/humor-can-be-one-of-our-best-survival-tools/) [Allen Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-klein/) > [Comedy is a necessity to get through life with the fewest scars. Humor is the best antidote to help relieve all struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/comedy-is-a-necessity-to-get-through-life-with-the-fewest-scars-humor/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [I think humor is the best gift, and if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/i-think-humor-is-the-best-gift-and-if-you-can-t-laugh-at-yourself-who/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [I think humor is the best thing to impress a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-rohrbach/i-think-humor-is-the-best-thing-to-impress-a-girl/) [Kelly Rohrbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-rohrbach/) > [Humor is the best means of surviving in a difficult world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/humor-is-the-best-means-of-surviving-in-a-difficult-world/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Good Humor is the best shield against the darts of satirical raillery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simmons/good-humor-is-the-best-shield-against-the-darts-of-satirical-raillery/) [Charles Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simmons/) > [You feel like you need to deal with a lot if you're from Cleveland, so you learn to let things roll off your back,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-bayer/you-feel-like-you-need-to-deal-with-a-lot-if-you-re-from-cleveland-so/) [Vanessa Bayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-bayer/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Lewis Hyde > [We are only alive to the degree that we can let ourselves be moved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/we-are-only-alive-to-the-degree-that-we-can-let-ourselves-be-moved/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [What is it about a work of art, even when it is bought and sold in the market, that makes us distinguish it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/what-is-it-about-a-work-of-art-even-when-it-is-bought-and-sold-in-the/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Erik Erikson has commented: Potentially creative men like (Bernard) Shaw build the personal fundament of their work during a self-decreed moratorium, during which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/erik-erikson-has-commented-potentially-creative-men-like-bernard-shaw/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“All cultures seem to find a slightly alien local population to carry the Hermes projection. For the Vietnamese it is the Chinese, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/all-cultures-seem-to-find-a-slightly-alien-local-population-to-carry/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [The passage into mystery always refreshes. If, when we work, we can look once a day upon the face of mystery, then our labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/the-passage-into-mystery-always-refreshes-if-when-we-work-we-can-look/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [To be a great teacher, you can't simply be looking at how to earn your income. And with a priest or spiritual leader -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/to-be-a-great-teacher-you-can-t-simply-be-looking-at-how-to-earn-your/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Irony has only emergency use. Carried over time it is the voice of the trapped who have come to enjoy their cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/irony-has-only-emergency-use-carried-over-time-it-is-the-voice-of-the/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [We forgive when we give up attachment to our wounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/we-forgive-when-we-give-up-attachment-to-our-wounds/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [All that we make and do is shaped by the communities and traditions that contain us, not to mention by money, power, politics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/all-that-we-make-and-do-is-shaped-by-the-communities-and-traditions/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Science may not be as intimate as the medical profession; nonetheless, it certainly is a community in which ideas are often shared as contributions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/science-may-not-be-as-intimate-as-the-medical-profession-nonetheless/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“There is the family of our birth and then there is a more noble world to which we really belong; the richness of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/there-is-the-family-of-our-birth-and-then-there-is-a-more-noble-world/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [An anaesthetic is a poet-killer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/an-anaesthetic-is-a-poet-killer/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“Irony got dangerous when it became a habit. Wallace quoted Lewis Hyde…”Irony has only emergency use. Carried over time, it is the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/irony-got-dangerous-when-it-became-a-habit-wallace-quoted-lewis-hyde/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [When we are moved by art we are grateful that the artist lived, grateful that he labored in the service of his gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/when-we-are-moved-by-art-we-are-grateful-that-the-artist-lived/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Unlike the sale of a commodity, the giving of a gift tends to establish a relationship between the parties involved. When gifts circulate within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/unlike-the-sale-of-a-commodity-the-giving-of-a-gift-tends-to/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) [Explore all 32 Lewis Hyde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) ## More Comedy quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I wouldn't want people to laugh at me. That's why I have to give all that I can, and at least produce something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-wei/i-wouldn-t-want-people-to-laugh-at-me-that-s-why-i-have-to-give-all/) [Zhao Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-wei/) > [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [There's a difference between delivering real funny and just silly funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-rel-howery/there-s-a-difference-between-delivering-real-funny-and-just-silly/) [Lil Rel Howery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-rel-howery/) > [Oh to that corkscrew, the useful tool to unlock the treasure of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-guzaldo/oh-to-that-corkscrew-the-useful-tool-to-unlock-the-treasure-of-wit/) [Andrew Guzaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-guzaldo/) > [“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/) > [I do love to laugh!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-giudice/i-do-love-to-laugh/) [Teresa Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-giudice/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) [Browse all 19,795 Comedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Better to operate with detachment, then; better to have a way but infuse it with a little humor; best, to have no way at all but to have instead the wit constantly to make one's way anew from the materials at hand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Hyde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-better-to-have-a-way-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comedy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-better-to-have-a-way-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/lewis-hyde-19548_comedy_better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-b_3041538.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/lewis-hyde-19548_comedy_better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-b_3041538.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/lewis-hyde-19548_comedy_better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-b_3041538.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Better to operate with detachment, then; better to have a way but infuse it with a little humor; best, to…” — Lewis Hyde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lewis Hyde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Better to operate with detachment, then;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-better-to-have-a-way-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/better-to-operate-with-detachment-then-better-to-have-a-way-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```