--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only by learning to live in harmony with…" description: "\"Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.\" — Audre Lorde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/audre-lorde-758_harmony_only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with_1891596.jpg" --- # Only by learning to live in harmony with your… ![“Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/audre-lorde-758_harmony_only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with_1891596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/audre-lorde-758_harmony_only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with_1891596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/audre-lorde-758_harmony_only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with_1891596.jpg) > “Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embracing contradictions allows balance and resilience in life. **In simple terms:** Accept inner conflicts to stay afloat. Key Takeaway Integrate opposing parts of self. Themes self‑acceptance balance resilience Mood thoughtful empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - conflict resolution - creative work Key Concepts contradiction psychological integration Questions to Reflect On - What contradictions do you hold? - How can they serve growth? A Different Perspective May cause indecision if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions/) [Contradictions Afloat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-afloat-2736583/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Harmony Contradictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony-contradictions-2736584/) [Live Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-harmony-695241/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) ## Related quotes > [Elves live in harmony with the world, and I try to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/elves-live-in-harmony-with-the-world-and-i-try-to-do-that/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [“What a wonderful world that we can live together in harmony of peace!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-a-wonderful-world-that-we-can-live-together-in-harmony-of-peace/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“We ought to repress our feelings and live in harmony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-truschke/we-ought-to-repress-our-feelings-and-live-in-harmony/) [Audrey Truschke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-truschke/) > [Health and well-being, as well as how we can live in harmony with our planet, is something I'm passionate about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nargis-fakhri/health-and-well-being-as-well-as-how-we-can-live-in-harmony-with-our/) [Nargis Fakhri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nargis-fakhri/) > [“Live in harmony with one another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/live-in-harmony-with-one-another/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Mankind must live in harmony with one another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/mankind-must-live-in-harmony-with-one-another/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/how-can-we-live-in-harmony-first-we-need-to-know-we-are-all-madly-in/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“Mindfulness helps us to live in harmony with our thoughts, words and actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/mindfulness-helps-us-to-live-in-harmony-with-our-thoughts-words-and/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [If you wish to live in harmony, you must respect every person and, in non-essential matters, yield!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-jp-vaswani/if-you-wish-to-live-in-harmony-you-must-respect-every-person-and-in/) [Dada JP Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-jp-vaswani/) > [“Figure out the rhythm of life and live in harmony with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu-tao-teh-ching/figure-out-the-rhythm-of-life-and-live-in-harmony-with-it/) [Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu-tao-teh-ching/) > [Where no one intrudes, many can live in harmony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-dan-george/where-no-one-intrudes-many-can-live-in-harmony/) [Chief Dan George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-dan-george/) > [“She wishes to live in harmony with nature. I wish to live in harmony with her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-adler/she-wishes-to-live-in-harmony-with-nature-i-wish-to-live-in-harmony/) [Bruce Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-adler/) > [“When it's cold outside Am I here in vain? Hold on to the night There will be no shame Always I wanna be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasure/when-it-s-cold-outside-am-i-here-in-vain-hold-on-to-the-night-there/) [Erasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasure/) > [Let us live and move in harmony. Let us grow together. Let us cherish the wisdom that we have acquired together. Let us live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/let-us-live-and-move-in-harmony-let-us-grow-together-let-us-cherish/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [To live well is to live in harmony with ourselves, others and nature, and that idea of harmony is, of course, an aesthetic one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-c-beiser/to-live-well-is-to-live-in-harmony-with-ourselves-others-and-nature/) [Frederick C. Beiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-c-beiser/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Contradictions quotes > [:)So Micayla didn't quite understand the meaning of the word paradox, so like most things I struggle to understand or make sense of I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micayla-ludick-basson/so-micayla-didn-t-quite-understand-the-meaning-of-the-word-paradox-so/) [Micayla Ludick Basson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micayla-ludick-basson/) > [I've realized that life is indeed full of contradictions. Sometimes its crazy to be sane.You need to fall to fly. People suffer because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-realized-that-life-is-indeed-full-of-contradictions-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The reflection of nature in man's thought must be understood not lifelessly but in the eternal process of movement, the arising of contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/the-reflection-of-nature-in-man-s-thought-must-be-understood-not/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“Seemed she should learn to smile when she was unhappy, to stop laughing, to speak up, to never speak to strangers, to share guilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/seemed-she-should-learn-to-smile-when-she-was-unhappy-to-stop/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [We both wondered whether these contradictions that one can't avoid if one begins to think of time and space may not really be proofs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-both-wondered-whether-these-contradictions-that-one-can-t-avoid-if/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [We crave support in vanity, as we do in religion, and never forgive contradictions in that sphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/we-crave-support-in-vanity-as-we-do-in-religion-and-never-forgive/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“ If "If freckles were lovely, and day was night, And measles were nice and a lie warn't a lie, Life would be delight,--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings-2/if-if-freckles-were-lovely-and-day-was-night-and-measles-were-nice/) [E.E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings-2/) > [There is, in short, no 'spatial fix' that can contain the contradictions of capitalism in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/there-is-in-short-no-spatial-fix-that-can-contain-the-contradictions/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [“A true god surely cannot have been born of a girl, nor died on the gibbet, nor be eaten in a piece of dough...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-true-god-surely-cannot-have-been-born-of-a-girl-nor-died-on-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Songwriters such as Alanis Morissette write about the constant balance of contradictions, and that's something I adhere to in my life and work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/songwriters-such-as-alanis-morissette-write-about-the-constant/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [“One of the things about Ike that makes him so indisputably a hero is that he doesn't leave his own contradictions to the effete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/one-of-the-things-about-ike-that-makes-him-so-indisputably-a-hero-is/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [When an individual does not become conscious of their inner contradictions, the world acts out the conflict and is torn in opposite halves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/when-an-individual-does-not-become-conscious-of-their-inner/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 348 Contradictions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with-your-contradictions-can-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contradictions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with-your-contradictions-can-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/audre-lorde-758_harmony_only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with_1891596.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/audre-lorde-758_harmony_only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with_1891596.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/audre-lorde-758_harmony_only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with_1891596.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.” — Audre Lorde", "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": "Audre Lorde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only by learning to live in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with-your-contradictions-can-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/only-by-learning-to-live-in-harmony-with-your-contradictions-can-you/#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 } } ] } ```