--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had the feeling of something inside me…" description: "\"“I had the feeling of something inside me that flipped like a fish in a net. It was hope. As much as I bad-mouth people in general and think the worst ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/marcel-theroux-26386_faith_i-had-the-feeling-of-something-inside-me_280454.jpg" --- # I had the feeling of something inside me that flipped like… ![“I had the feeling of something inside me that flipped like a fish in a net. It was hope. As much as I bad-mouth people in general and think the worst of them, I'm secretly waiting for them to surprise me. Try as I might, I haven't been able to give up on them wholly. Even though they are nine and…” quote by Marcel Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/marcel-theroux-26386_faith_i-had-the-feeling-of-something-inside-me_280454.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/marcel-theroux-26386_faith_i-had-the-feeling-of-something-inside-me_280454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/marcel-theroux-26386_faith_i-had-the-feeling-of-something-inside-me_280454.jpg) > ““I had the feeling of something inside me that flipped like a fish in a net. It was hope. As much as I bad-mouth people in general and think the worst of them, I'm secretly waiting for them to surprise me. Try as I might, I haven't been able to give up on them wholly. Even though they are nine and nine-tenths dirt, now and again they are capable of something angelic. I can't say that it restores my faith, because I really had none in the first place, but when it happens it does confuse you.”” [Marcel Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-theroux/) ## 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 acknowledges a deep, conflicted hope that people can surprise us with kindness despite frequent disappointment, challenging a cynical worldview. **In simple terms:** Hope persists even when we expect the worst. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture unexpected goodness. Themes hope human nature optimism cynicism Mood reflective hopeful conflicted Type personal philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - community building - conflict resolution - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology faith redemption Questions to Reflect On - What small acts of kindness have changed your view of others? - How do you balance skepticism with hope? A Different Perspective Hope can be fragile and may not fully restore lost faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“As much as I bad-mouth people in general and think the worst of them, I’m secretly waiting for them to surprise me. 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There's something worse: losing hope and hiding it from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/losing-hope-is-not-so-bad-there-s-something-worse-losing-hope-and/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [You wonder, 'How could it possibly be me?' Well, of course it could happen to you. You have it. Then, of course, you wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dimon/you-wonder-how-could-it-possibly-be-me-well-of-course-it-could-happen/) [Jamie Dimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dimon/) > [If you believe that you are bad and unacceptable, you are unable to look back at your past with pleasure or your future with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-rowe/if-you-believe-that-you-are-bad-and-unacceptable-you-are-unable-to/) [Dorothy Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-rowe/) > [You will know when its right, you will know when its wrong, you will have a distressed life, but don't lose your hope, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabhav-gautam/you-will-know-when-its-right-you-will-know-when-its-wrong-you-will/) Prabhav Gautam > [“Hope hurts. That's what you need to learn, and fast, if you don't want it to cut you open from the inside out. Hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/hope-hurts-that-s-what-you-need-to-learn-and-fast-if-you-don-t-want/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [“I will hear a noise, like a fish jumping, and when I look I'll see Lizzy coming to the surface, shaking off her pink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hamilton/i-will-hear-a-noise-like-a-fish-jumping-and-when-i-look-i-ll-see/) [Jane Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hamilton/) > [Like a fish needs a bicycle. A goldfish riding a bicycle underwater. I need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-dunn/like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle-a-goldfish-riding-a-bicycle-underwater-i/) Irina Dunn > [Twinkle twinkle little whore, close them legs, they smell like fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/racheey-babbeess/twinkle-twinkle-little-whore-close-them-legs-they-smell-like-fish/) Racheey Babbeess > [I am like the fish in the aquarium, thinking in a different language, adapting to a life that’s not my natural habitat. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-am-like-the-fish-in-the-aquarium-thinking-in-a-different-language/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [I like to fish. Fishing is always a way of relaxing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/i-like-to-fish-fishing-is-always-a-way-of-relaxing/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-have-learned-to-fly-the-air-like-birds-and-swim-the-sea-like-fish/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“They're not people at all, they're graduate students, there's a difference. They fuck like bunnies and drink like fish and stay up late worrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-canty/they-re-not-people-at-all-they-re-graduate-students-there-s-a/) [Kevin Canty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-canty/) ## More by Marcel Theroux > [“We don't get much of a spring or fall to speak of. Up here, for ten months a year, the weather has teeth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-theroux/we-don-t-get-much-of-a-spring-or-fall-to-speak-of-up-here-for-ten/) [Marcel Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-theroux/) > [“I loved my father, but I was not like him. I never needed to believe the best of people. I took them as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-theroux/i-loved-my-father-but-i-was-not-like-him-i-never-needed-to-believe/) [Marcel Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-theroux/) > [“Imagine: If a man who shakes hands up and down meets a man who shakes hands side to side, what will happen? 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What no one expects is to be at the end of everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-theroux/everyone-expects-to-be-at-the-end-of-something-what-no-one-expects-is/) [Marcel Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-theroux/) > [“It's a kind of heresy to say so, but I think our race has made forms more beautiful than what was here before us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-theroux/it-s-a-kind-of-heresy-to-say-so-but-i-think-our-race-has-made-forms/) [Marcel Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-theroux/) > [“no one tells you this, how having children multiplies your capacity for suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-theroux/no-one-tells-you-this-how-having-children-multiplies-your-capacity/) [Marcel Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-theroux/) [Explore all 21 Marcel Theroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-theroux/) ## More Faith quotes > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. 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