--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And who among us is not neurotic, and has…" description: "\"“And who among us is not neurotic, and has never complained that they are not understood? Why did you come here, to this place, if not in the hope of b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/mary-ruefle-12875_hope_and-who-among-us-is-not-neurotic-and-has_1213187.jpg" --- # And who among us is not neurotic, and has never complained… ![“And who among us is not neurotic, and has never complained that they are not understood? Why did you come here, to this place, if not in the hope of being understood, of being in some small way comprehended by your peers, and embraced by them in a fellowship of shared secrets? I don't know about…” quote by Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/mary-ruefle-12875_hope_and-who-among-us-is-not-neurotic-and-has_1213187.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/mary-ruefle-12875_hope_and-who-among-us-is-not-neurotic-and-has_1213187.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/mary-ruefle-12875_hope_and-who-among-us-is-not-neurotic-and-has_1213187.jpg) > ““And who among us is not neurotic, and has never complained that they are not understood? Why did you come here, to this place, if not in the hope of being understood, of being in some small way comprehended by your peers, and embraced by them in a fellowship of shared secrets? I don't know about you, but I just want to be held.”” [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People seek validation and connection, yearning to be truly known and embraced. **In simple terms:** We all want to be understood and accepted. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy and open communication. Themes validation connection vulnerability Mood longing hopeful Type emotional inspirational When to use this quote - friendships - therapy sessions - team meetings - support groups Key Concepts empathy shared experience Questions to Reflect On - How can you foster deeper understanding? - What barriers prevent true connection? A Different Perspective Understanding can be limited by personal biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ## Related quotes > [When I finally got the chance to do 'The People v. O.J. Simpson,' my peers embraced me with the same attitude. They didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/when-i-finally-got-the-chance-to-do-the-people-v-o-j-simpson-my-peers/) [Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [Press on! Don't let yourselves be robbed of hope. Understood?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/press-on-don-t-let-yourselves-be-robbed-of-hope-understood/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [I had to make them changes, I hope you understood. You see for every bad, I did a ton of good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/i-had-to-make-them-changes-i-hope-you-understood-you-see-for-every/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [The world of immediate experience the world in which we find ourselves living must be comprehended, transformed, even subverted in order to become that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-world-of-immediate-experience-the-world-in-which-we-find/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [When we see that the whole sum of our salvation, and every single part of it, are comprehended in Christ, we must beware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/when-we-see-that-the-whole-sum-of-our-salvation-and-every-single-part/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [“What is comprehended is embedded into reality as fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/what-is-comprehended-is-embedded-into-reality-as-fact/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [A God comprehended is no God. (Ein begriffener Gott ist kein Gott.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-tersteegen/a-god-comprehended-is-no-god-ein-begriffener-gott-ist-kein-gott/) [Gerhard Tersteegen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-tersteegen/) > [Freedom can never be comprehended, nor even can insight into it be gained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-can-never-be-comprehended-nor-even-can-insight-into-it-be/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [This whole beauty thing is something I've never comprehended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-grier/this-whole-beauty-thing-is-something-i-ve-never-comprehended/) [Pam Grier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-grier/) > [Too soon did the doctors of the church forget that the heart--the moral nature--was the beginning and the end, and that truth, knowledge, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/too-soon-did-the-doctors-of-the-church-forget-that-the-heart-the/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [One place comprehended can make us understand other places better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/one-place-comprehended-can-make-us-understand-other-places-better/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“For the first time, I comprehended that love, at least for me, had nothing to do with sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-smith/for-the-first-time-i-comprehended-that-love-at-least-for-me-had/) [Sherwood Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-smith/) > [God can only be comprehended as Love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/god-can-only-be-comprehended-as-love/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [A comprehended god is no god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-comprehended-god-is-no-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “\[48\] - 4 Dispelling fear but knowledge be, Replacing our doubts completely, Nothing need be feared undoubtedly, But must be comprehended absolutely. \[49\] - 4” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munindra-munnan-misra/48-4-dispelling-fear-but-knowledge-be-replacing-our-doubts-completely/) [Munindra (Munnan) Misra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munindra-munnan-misra/) ## More by Mary Ruefle > [Now I will give you a piece of advice. I will tell you something that I absolutely believe you should do, and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/now-i-will-give-you-a-piece-of-advice-i-will-tell-you-something-that/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [I hated childhood / I hate adulthood / And I love being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/i-hated-childhood-i-hate-adulthood-and-i-love-being-alive/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [The industrial world destroys nature not because it doesn’t love it but because it is not afraid of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/the-industrial-world-destroys-nature-not-because-it-doesn-t-love-it/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [Every time it starts to snow, I would like to have sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/every-time-it-starts-to-snow-i-would-like-to-have-sex/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [I remember I was a child, and when I grew up I was a poet. It all happened at sixty miles an hour and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/i-remember-i-was-a-child-and-when-i-grew-up-i-was-a-poet-it-all/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [Yes, the mistrust of poetry has a long history, for a variety of reasons, but they all come down to sentiment and invention over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/yes-the-mistrust-of-poetry-has-a-long-history-for-a-variety-of/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [“If there is any irreverence in my own work, I hope it is the irreverence I bear in mistrusting my own sincere self, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/if-there-is-any-irreverence-in-my-own-work-i-hope-it-is-the/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [We are all one question, and the best answer seems to be love—a connection between things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/we-are-all-one-question-and-the-best-answer-seems-to-be-love-a/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [Every creative act is an act of hypocrisy and violence. You may have to think about it for a while, but I am sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/every-creative-act-is-an-act-of-hypocrisy-and-violence-you-may-have/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [I have become an orchid washed in on the salt white beach. Memory, what can I make of it now that might please you-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/i-have-become-an-orchid-washed-in-on-the-salt-white-beach-memory-what/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [Irreverence is a way of playing hooky and remaining present at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/irreverence-is-a-way-of-playing-hooky-and-remaining-present-at-the/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [In the end I would rather wonder than know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/in-the-end-i-would-rather-wonder-than-know/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [The origins of poetry are clearly rooted in obscurity, in secretiveness, in incantation, in spells that must at once invoke and protect, tell the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/the-origins-of-poetry-are-clearly-rooted-in-obscurity-in/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [There is a world which poets cannot seem to enter. It is the world everybody else lives in. And the only thing poets seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/there-is-a-world-which-poets-cannot-seem-to-enter-it-is-the-world/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [the wasting of time is the most personal, most private, most intimate form of conversation with oneself, as well as with another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/the-wasting-of-time-is-the-most-personal-most-private-most-intimate/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) [Explore all 52 Mary Ruefle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) Simone Abou Samra > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) Im Nothing > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And who among us is not neurotic, and has never complained that they are not understood? 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