--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never wanted children; maybe I'm afraid…" description: "\"I never wanted children; maybe I'm afraid of responsibility.\" — Mahmoud Darwish" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/mahmoud-darwish-6881_children_i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid_1986967.jpg" --- # I never wanted children; maybe I'm afraid of responsibility. ![“I never wanted children; maybe I'm afraid of responsibility.” quote by Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/mahmoud-darwish-6881_children_i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid_1986967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/mahmoud-darwish-6881_children_i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid_1986967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/mahmoud-darwish-6881_children_i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid_1986967.jpg) > “I never wanted children; maybe I'm afraid of responsibility.” [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker fears parenthood, associating it with loss of freedom and increased responsibility. **In simple terms:** Fear of children stems from responsibility anxiety. Key Takeaway Consider personal readiness before major life choices. Themes family responsibility fear freedom life choices Mood thoughtful introspective hopeful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - relationship counseling - parenting workshops - personal journals Key Concepts psychology commitment social expectations Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities could enrich your life? - How might fear be reframed as caution? A Different Perspective Responsibility can also bring joy and growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Afraid Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-responsibility-295282/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Maybe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-maybe-2503710/) [Maybe Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe-afraid-755180/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [I encourage you to be a person who is not afraid of responsibility. In meeting resistance you will build your strength. If you only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/i-encourage-you-to-be-a-person-who-is-not-afraid-of-responsibility-in/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [When you are happy and in love and when you have children, then maybe you are beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-beart/when-you-are-happy-and-in-love-and-when-you-have-children-then-maybe/) [Emmanuelle Beart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-beart/) > [I don't want to speak for all people who don't have children, but maybe there's a discomfort with kids and the amount of attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannyn-sossamon/i-don-t-want-to-speak-for-all-people-who-don-t-have-children-but/) [Shannyn Sossamon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannyn-sossamon/) > [We are used to thinking in terms of what we can teach our children. Maybe we need to ask ourselves what we may learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piero-ferrucci/we-are-used-to-thinking-in-terms-of-what-we-can-teach-our-children/) [Piero Ferrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piero-ferrucci/) > [Maybe you're afraid of sinking. Don't think about it. If you don't think about it, you won't sink. If you do, you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/maybe-you-re-afraid-of-sinking-don-t-think-about-it-if-you-don-t/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [“He became a surgeon because he was afraid of knives. He got married because he was afraid of women. He had a child because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/he-became-a-surgeon-because-he-was-afraid-of-knives-he-got-married/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [If there's a thing I've learned in my life it's to not be afraid of the responsibility that comes with caring for other people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-there-s-a-thing-i-ve-learned-in-my-life-it-s-to-not-be-afraid-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no safe political refuge for those afraid to take responsibility for their own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/there-is-no-safe-political-refuge-for-those-afraid-to-take/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [When I was in Vojvodina, it is not possible to describe. If you play one bad ball, one little mistake, they are, 'Oh, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusan-tadic/when-i-was-in-vojvodina-it-is-not-possible-to-describe-if-you-play/) [Dusan Tadic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusan-tadic/) > [“I don't want my life to not be the way I expected. I may not be scared of crowds. Or the dark. Or small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-trunko/i-don-t-want-my-life-to-not-be-the-way-i-expected-i-may-not-be-scared/) [Emily Trunko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-trunko/) > [Maybe I was afraid to trust him with something so personal as my devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/maybe-i-was-afraid-to-trust-him-with-something-so-personal-as-my/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“I didn't like anything. Maybe I was afraid. That was it - I was afraid. I wanted to sit alone in a room with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-didn-t-like-anything-maybe-i-was-afraid-that-was-it-i-was-afraid-i/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Maybe there's something you´re afraid to say, or someone you´re afraid to love, or somewhere you´re afraid to go. It´s gonna hurt. It´s gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/maybe-there-s-something-you-re-afraid-to-say-or-someone-you-re-afraid-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go, you know? It's gonna hurt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maybe-there-s-something-you-re-afraid-to-say-or-someone-you-re-afraid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Carrie doesn't seem to talk about anything with sharp edges. Maybe she's afraid they might poke her and then she'd burst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mcmann/carrie-doesn-t-seem-to-talk-about-anything-with-sharp-edges-maybe-she/) [Lisa McMann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mcmann/) ## More by Mahmoud Darwish > [“I see a bird carrying me and carrying you, with us as its wings, beyond the dream, to a journey that has no end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-see-a-bird-carrying-me-and-carrying-you-with-us-as-its-wings-beyond/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [Life defined only as the opposite of death is not life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/life-defined-only-as-the-opposite-of-death-is-not-life/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [My love, I fear the silence of your hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/my-love-i-fear-the-silence-of-your-hands/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [“I'll search in mythology and archeology and in every -ology to my old name. one of the goddesses of Canaan will side with me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-ll-search-in-mythology-and-archeology-and-in-every-ology-to-my-old/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [I see what I want of Love... I see horses making the meadow dance, fifty guitars sighing, and a swarm of bees suckling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-see-what-i-want-of-love-i-see-horses-making-the-meadow-dance-fifty/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [I have learned and dismantled all the words in order to draw from them a single word: Home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-have-learned-and-dismantled-all-the-words-in-order-to-draw-from/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [My homeland is not a suitcase, and I am no traveller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/my-homeland-is-not-a-suitcase-and-i-am-no-traveller/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [Where can I free myself of the homeland in my body?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/where-can-i-free-myself-of-the-homeland-in-my-body/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [She does not love you. Your metaphors thrill her you are her poet. But that's all there's to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/she-does-not-love-you-your-metaphors-thrill-her-you-are-her-poet-but/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [I've built my homeland, I've even founded my state - in my language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-ve-built-my-homeland-i-ve-even-founded-my-state-in-my-language/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [“Please take your time. I want you to kill me slowly so I can write my last poem to my wife's heart. They laughed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/please-take-your-time-i-want-you-to-kill-me-slowly-so-i-can-write-my/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [I want to find a language that transforms language itself into steel for the spirit--a language to use against these sparkling insects, these jets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-want-to-find-a-language-that-transforms-language-itself-into-steel/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [Nothing, nothing justifies terrorism,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/nothing-nothing-justifies-terrorism/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [Sometimes I feel as if I am read before I write. When I write a poem about my mother, Palestinians think my mother is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/sometimes-i-feel-as-if-i-am-read-before-i-write-when-i-write-a-poem/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [... For me it is essential, essential for the poet to have a new toast, new songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/for-me-it-is-essential-essential-for-the-poet-to-have-a-new-toast-new/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) [Explore all 94 Mahmoud Darwish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [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 am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) [Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never wanted children; maybe I'm afraid of responsibility.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahmoud Darwish" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid-of-responsibility/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid-of-responsibility/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/mahmoud-darwish-6881_children_i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid_1986967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/mahmoud-darwish-6881_children_i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid_1986967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/mahmoud-darwish-6881_children_i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid_1986967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never wanted children; maybe I'm afraid of responsibility.” — Mahmoud Darwish", "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": "Mahmoud Darwish", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never wanted children; maybe I'm...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid-of-responsibility/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/i-never-wanted-children-maybe-i-m-afraid-of-responsibility/#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 } } ] } ```