--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're walking contradictions, seeking…" description: "\"“We're walking contradictions, seeking safety and predictability on one hand and thriving on diversity on the other.”\" — Esther Perel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/esther-perel-3265_contradictions_we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-saf_573529.png" --- # We're walking contradictions, seeking safety and… ![“We're walking contradictions, seeking safety and predictability on one hand and thriving on diversity on the other.” quote by Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/esther-perel-3265_contradictions_we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-saf_573529.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/esther-perel-3265_contradictions_we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-saf_573529.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/esther-perel-3265_contradictions_we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-saf_573529.png) > ““We're walking contradictions, seeking safety and predictability on one hand and thriving on diversity on the other.”” [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People desire both security and novelty, creating an inner conflict between safety and growth. **In simple terms:** We crave safety and excitement at the same time. Key Takeaway Embrace both sides, seek balance. Themes security growth paradox relationships Mood reflective curious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - dating - career choices - creative projects - personal development Key Concepts psychology human needs dualism Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile safety with the need for diversity? - What habits help you honor both drives? A Different Perspective Balancing opposites can cause anxiety and indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) ## Related quotes > [The majority of immigrants are in search of a better life for their families or are seeking safety by leaving violent and corrupt countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-schlapp/the-majority-of-immigrants-are-in-search-of-a-better-life-for-their/) [Mercedes Schlapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-schlapp/) > ['Safety', the wife of Pablo said. 'There is no such thing as safety. 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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/) > [:)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/) ## More by Esther Perel > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [ “For \[erotically intelligent couples\], love is a vessel that contains both security and adventure, and commitment offers one of the great luxuries of life:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-erotically-intelligent-couples-love-is-a-vessel-that-contains/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [For some people, a one-night stand doesn't make any difference in a seven-year love affair. I don't believe the degree of betrayal is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-some-people-a-one-night-stand-doesn-t-make-any-difference-in-a/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [I want to engage people in an honest, enlightened, and provocative conversation about the nature of erotic desire and the intricacies of intimacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-want-to-engage-people-in-an-honest-enlightened-and-provocative/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships . . . which are basically a reflection of your sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/the-quality-of-your-life-ultimately-depends-on-the-quality-of-your/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [If you start to feel that you have given up too many parts of yourself to be with your partner, then one day you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/if-you-start-to-feel-that-you-have-given-up-too-many-parts-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“I regret to say that we of the FBI are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-regret-to-say-that-we-of-the-fbi-are-powerless-to-act-in-cases-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [You never know your partner as well as you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/you-never-know-your-partner-as-well-as-you-think/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [On some level we trade passion for security, that's trading one illusion for another. It's a matter of degree. We can't live in constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/on-some-level-we-trade-passion-for-security-that-s-trading-one/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“When the impulse to share becomes obligatory, when personal boundaries are no longer respected, when only the shared space of togetherness is acknowledged and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/when-the-impulse-to-share-becomes-obligatory-when-personal-boundaries/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“I do believe that the emphasis on egalitarian and respectful sex—purged of any expressions of power, aggression, and transgression—is antithetical to erotic desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-do-believe-that-the-emphasis-on-egalitarian-and-respectful-sex/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“If intimacy grows through repetition and familiarity, eroticism is numbed by repetition. It thrives on the mysterious, the novel, and the unexpected. Love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/if-intimacy-grows-through-repetition-and-familiarity-eroticism-is/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“She’s beautiful, too, did I mention that? She lives the life I didn’t live. I feel middle-age and middle-class around her. Nothing wrong with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/she-s-beautiful-too-did-i-mention-that-she-lives-the-life-i-didn-t/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [In dating, if you say no, your lover goes on to the next person. In marriage, if you say no, the person stays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/in-dating-if-you-say-no-your-lover-goes-on-to-the-next-person-in/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) [Explore all 135 Esther Perel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) ## 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": "“We're walking contradictions, seeking safety and predictability on one hand and thriving on diversity on the other.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Esther Perel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-safety-and-predictability-on-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contradictions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-safety-and-predictability-on-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/esther-perel-3265_contradictions_we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-saf_573529.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/esther-perel-3265_contradictions_we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-saf_573529.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/esther-perel-3265_contradictions_we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-saf_573529.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We're walking contradictions, seeking safety and predictability on one hand and thriving on diversity on the…” — Esther Perel", "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": "Esther Perel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We're walking contradictions, seeking safety and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-safety-and-predictability-on-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/we-re-walking-contradictions-seeking-safety-and-predictability-on-one/#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 } } ] } ```