--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot bear to associate with the…" description: "\"I cannot bear to associate with the ordinary run of people. I have to surround myself with individuals who for the most part are more than a trifle ins..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/wallace-thurman-52358_bears_i-cannot-bear-to-associate-with-the-ordi_580399.jpg" --- # I cannot bear to associate with the ordinary run of… ![“I cannot bear to associate with the ordinary run of people. I have to surround myself with individuals who for the most part are more than a trifle insane” quote by Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/wallace-thurman-52358_bears_i-cannot-bear-to-associate-with-the-ordi_580399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/wallace-thurman-52358_bears_i-cannot-bear-to-associate-with-the-ordi_580399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/wallace-thurman-52358_bears_i-cannot-bear-to-associate-with-the-ordi_580399.jpg) > “I cannot bear to associate with the ordinary run of people. I have to surround myself with individuals who for the most part are more than a trifle insane” [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator seeks companionship among those who are unconventional or "insane," rejecting ordinary society for more vibrant, intense connections. **In simple terms:** Avoid ordinary people; surround with extraordinary, even eccentric, individuals. Key Takeaway Choose stimulating, non‑conformist company. Themes individuality nonconformity creativity Mood introspective defiant Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - artistic communities - literary salons - friendship choices Key Concepts eccentricity social circles Questions to Reflect On - What value do you find in unconventional friendships? - How does society define "ordinary"? A Different Perspective Such company may be unstable or socially isolating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individuals Trifle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals-trifle-4771900/) [Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insane/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Run People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/run-people-793573/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Surround](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surround/) [Surround Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surround-individuals-4771898/) [Trifle Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trifle-insane-4771899/) [Trifles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trifles/) ## Related quotes > [There is nothing to be intimidated about - it's just another long run where a few more people show up and they happen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wess-stafford/there-is-nothing-to-be-intimidated-about-it-s-just-another-long-run/) [Wess Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wess-stafford/) > [This world is run by people who know how to do things. They know how things work. They are equipped. Up there, there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/this-world-is-run-by-people-who-know-how-to-do-things-they-know-how-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I had run other people's campaigns. I had been doing political activities for a decade before I ever ran for office myself. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazie-hirono/i-had-run-other-people-s-campaigns-i-had-been-doing-political/) [Mazie Hirono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazie-hirono/) > [“This world is run by people who know how to do things. They know how things work. They are \*equipped.\* Up there, there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/this-world-is-run-by-people-who-know-how-to-do-things-they-know-how/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [For instance, people who have to walk miles for water - and we just turn on the faucet and let it run. 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Now I try to run around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-veon-bell/i-used-to-be-more-of-a-bruiser-i-wanted-to-run-through-people-now-i/) [Le'Veon Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-veon-bell/) > [I can tell you've never been in love because you still run from it...People that have felt love run toward it, no matter the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-tell-you-ve-never-been-in-love-because-you-still-run-from-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world is run by the people who show up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-world-is-run-by-the-people-who-show-up/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Don't feel guilty about driving somewhere nice to run. If people can drive to a park to eat hot dogs, you can drive there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rodgers/don-t-feel-guilty-about-driving-somewhere-nice-to-run-if-people-can/) [Bill Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rodgers/) > [You don't run out on people; you run out on yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/you-don-t-run-out-on-people-you-run-out-on-yourself/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [The ideal Government minister may well be someone who has no itch to run other people's lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/the-ideal-government-minister-may-well-be-someone-who-has-no-itch-to/) [Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/) > [In the long run, the people are our only appeal. The only ones who can free us are ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/in-the-long-run-the-people-are-our-only-appeal-the-only-ones-who-can/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [Never make a decesion until you have to". He'd also warn me that even if I was in a position of strenght, whether at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/never-make-a-decesion-until-you-have-to-he-d-also-warn-me-that-even/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) ## More by Wallace Thurman > [The Negro and all things negroid had become a fad, and Harlem had become a shrine to which feverish pilgrimages were in order .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-thurman/the-negro-and-all-things-negroid-had-become-a-fad-and-harlem-had/) [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) > [Color prejudice and religion are akin in one respect. Some folks have it and some don't, and the kernel that is responsible for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-thurman/color-prejudice-and-religion-are-akin-in-one-respect-some-folks-have/) [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) > [If but a few live coals are found in a mountain of ashes, no one should be disappointed. Genius is a rare quality in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-thurman/if-but-a-few-live-coals-are-found-in-a-mountain-of-ashes-no-one/) [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) > [We are mere journeymen, planting seeds for someone else to harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-thurman/we-are-mere-journeymen-planting-seeds-for-someone-else-to-harvest/) [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) > [“Beloved, we join hands here to pray for gin. An aridity defiles us. Our innards thirst for the juice of juniper. 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About twice a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-thurman/being-a-negro-writer-these-days-is-a-racket-and-i-m-going-to-make-the/) [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) [Explore all 7 Wallace Thurman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) ## More Bears quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) [Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I cannot bear to associate with the ordinary run of people. 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