--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being ambivalent doesn't mean that you're…" description: "\"Being ambivalent doesn't mean that you're a relevatist, that anything goes; it just means that you show the complexity of life. Life is always complex...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b73/etgar-keret-2656_ambivalent_being-ambivalent-doesn-t-mean-that-you-r_3070801.png" --- # Being ambivalent doesn't mean that you're a relevatist… ![“Being ambivalent doesn't mean that you're a relevatist, that anything goes; it just means that you show the complexity of life. Life is always complex.” quote by Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b73/etgar-keret-2656_ambivalent_being-ambivalent-doesn-t-mean-that-you-r_3070801.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b73/etgar-keret-2656_ambivalent_being-ambivalent-doesn-t-mean-that-you-r_3070801.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b73/etgar-keret-2656_ambivalent_being-ambivalent-doesn-t-mean-that-you-r_3070801.png) > “Being ambivalent doesn't mean that you're a relevatist, that anything goes; it just means that you show the complexity of life. Life is always complex.” [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging ambivalence reflects life's inherent complexity, not moral relativism. **In simple terms:** Ambivalence shows life’s complexity. Key Takeaway Embrace nuance, avoid oversimplification. Themes complexity nuance philosophy Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - ethical debates - art criticism - political discourse Key Concepts relativism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing complexity affect your choices? - When does ambivalence become avoidance? A Different Perspective Complexity can lead to indecision or paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anything goes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything-goes/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Expansion means complexity and complexity decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-northcote-parkinson/expansion-means-complexity-and-complexity-decay/) [C. Northcote Parkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-northcote-parkinson/) > [Theatre is simply what cannot be expressed by any other means; a complexity of words, movements, gestures that convey a vision of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/theatre-is-simply-what-cannot-be-expressed-by-any-other-means-a/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [the mysterious complexity of our life is not to be embraced by maxims ... to lace ourselves up in formulas of that sort is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-mysterious-complexity-of-our-life-is-not-to-be-embraced-by-maxims/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What had been released into the desert vacuum and starry oases of the galaxy was the inexorable logic of reproduction and natural selection. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/what-had-been-released-into-the-desert-vacuum-and-starry-oases-of-the/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“Keep it simple' wasn't always the right response. Many things that boosted my happiness also added complexity to my life. Having children. Learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/keep-it-simple-wasn-t-always-the-right-response-many-things-that/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/i-would-not-give-a-fig-for-the-simplicity-this-side-of-complexity-but/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Either we learn to live together and embrace the complexity of life, or we will end up with fascism again and destroy ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/either-we-learn-to-live-together-and-embrace-the-complexity-of-life/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [Fate loves to invent patterns and designs. Its difficulty lies in complexity. But life itself is difficult because of its simplicity. It has only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/fate-loves-to-invent-patterns-and-designs-its-difficulty-lies-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [The price we pay for the complexity of life is too high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/the-price-we-pay-for-the-complexity-of-life-is-too-high/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The price we pay for the complexity of life is too high. When you think of all the effort you have to put in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/the-price-we-pay-for-the-complexity-of-life-is-too-high-when-you/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [Suddenly it was clear to me that all the beautiful complexity of life had simplicity at its core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lander/suddenly-it-was-clear-to-me-that-all-the-beautiful-complexity-of-life/) Eric Lander > [If you want the answer to anything, go sit in Nature for awhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/if-you-want-the-answer-to-anything-go-sit-in-nature-for-awhile/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We are a culture that relies on technology over community, a society in which spoken and written words are cheap, easy to come by,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/we-are-a-culture-that-relies-on-technology-over-community-a-society/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [There aren't any looks or customs I wish would come back. Today almost anything goes. Culture constantly devours the past so there's not much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/there-aren-t-any-looks-or-customs-i-wish-would-come-back-today-almost/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [Every woman's innate ability to let anything go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-macfarlane/every-woman-s-innate-ability-to-let-anything-go/) [Seth MacFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-macfarlane/) ## More by Etgar Keret > [“There should be an age limit for patients, he thinks as he takes off his shoes. You just have to say to them, "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/there-should-be-an-age-limit-for-patients-he-thinks-as-he-takes-off/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I usually start writing stories from tone and not from content - kind of like people who create music and invent the lyrics later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-usually-start-writing-stories-from-tone-and-not-from-content-kind/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Rabbits are played. Nowadays it's all about the turtles. Tell them it's a ninja, they'll freak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/rabbits-are-played-nowadays-it-s-all-about-the-turtles-tell-them-it-s/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [“She said I should pick the hall and the date and whatever I want, because it really doesn’t matter to her. That isn’t the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/she-said-i-should-pick-the-hall-and-the-date-and-whatever-i-want/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I like smoking pot, but I'm not the kind of guy who smokes every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-like-smoking-pot-but-i-m-not-the-kind-of-guy-who-smokes-every-day/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Often in writing programs, articulation and clarity are more important than what you actually say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/often-in-writing-programs-articulation-and-clarity-are-more-important/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I write in a slangy colloquial speech that has not been common in the Israeli tradition of writing, and that is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-write-in-a-slangy-colloquial-speech-that-has-not-been-common-in-the/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I write what needs to be written the way that seems genuinely right. If what comes out of it are stories, then it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-write-what-needs-to-be-written-the-way-that-seems-genuinely-right/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Collaborating with your wife is amazing because you are doing something together with a person you truly love and know and discover things about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/collaborating-with-your-wife-is-amazing-because-you-are-doing/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Sometimes, when you are in a really constrained situation, it makes you more focused about what you want to say and where you're heading.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/sometimes-when-you-are-in-a-really-constrained-situation-it-makes-you/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Being published in Arabic is a strong and consistent wish I have. I live in the Middle East and want to be in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/being-published-in-arabic-is-a-strong-and-consistent-wish-i-have-i/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [“And suddenly the driver remembered how he'd once promised himself that if he became God in the end, he'd be merciful and kind, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/and-suddenly-the-driver-remembered-how-he-d-once-promised-himself/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [If we're a family and your brother wishes you death, it's not a very happy family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/if-we-re-a-family-and-your-brother-wishes-you-death-it-s-not-a-very/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [“I think she cried at my funeral. It's not that I'm conceited or anything, but I'm pretty sure. Sometimes I can actually picture her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-think-she-cried-at-my-funeral-it-s-not-that-i-m-conceited-or/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [“Dice que no la amo de verdad. Que digo que la quiero, que creo que la quiero, pero que no. He oído a más…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/dice-que-no-la-amo-de-verdad-que-digo-que-la-quiero-que-creo-que-la/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) [Explore all 150 Etgar Keret quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) ## More Ambivalent quotes > [“I find it ironic that someone so ambivalent about living fights so hard to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-grover-swank/i-find-it-ironic-that-someone-so-ambivalent-about-living-fights-so/) [Denise Grover Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-grover-swank/) > [Americans have always had an ambivalent attitude toward intelligence. When they feel threatened, they want a lot of it, and when they don't, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/americans-have-always-had-an-ambivalent-attitude-toward-intelligence/) [Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/) > [When you 'make good,' you find out who your real friends are. You find out pretty quick. And it's a very ambivalent feeling, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-camp/when-you-make-good-you-find-out-who-your-real-friends-are-you-find/) [Greg Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-camp/) > [There is scarcely room for doubt that something in the psychological relation of a mother-in-law to a son-in-law breeds hostility between them and makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/there-is-scarcely-room-for-doubt-that-something-in-the-psychological/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The attitude of the American public toward the external projection of American power has been much more ambivalent. The public supported America's engagement in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-attitude-of-the-american-public-toward-the-external-projection-of/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Gollum was so interesting to me because he's morally ambivalent, and I love the notion of a quest that is to lose something. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/gollum-was-so-interesting-to-me-because-he-s-morally-ambivalent-and-i/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [The American public is somewhat ambivalent about what they expect out of thenational forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-regula/the-american-public-is-somewhat-ambivalent-about-what-they-expect-out/) [Ralph Regula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-regula/) > [What does it mean then to live with one another? It can be unhappy, it can be wretched, it can be ambivalent, it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/what-does-it-mean-then-to-live-with-one-another-it-can-be-unhappy-it/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“The unconscious operation of the attachment system via internal working models probably plays an important part in the choice of marital partner and relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/the-unconscious-operation-of-the-attachment-system-via-internal/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [I'd like to see a much more open Monarchy, myself. I used to think they were completely useless and we should get rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/i-d-like-to-see-a-much-more-open-monarchy-myself-i-used-to-think-they/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [The more ambivalent you are and the more uncertain you are, then you can get something that you cannot anticipate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-more-ambivalent-you-are-and-the-more-uncertain-you-are-then-you/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [We all parent the best we can. Being human, we're ambivalent. We want perfection for our babies, but we also need sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/we-all-parent-the-best-we-can-being-human-we-re-ambivalent-we-want/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [It's time to "stop being ambivalent." ... They (groups like the Islamic State) have no ideology beyond violence and chaos and the slaughter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-time-to-stop-being-ambivalent-they-groups-like-the-islamic-state/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We all have ambivalent feelings toward work ... We try to avoid it, and yet we seem to require it for our emotional well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/we-all-have-ambivalent-feelings-toward-work-we-try-to-avoid-it-and/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [I worked with fantastic actors, fantastic directors. People I would never otherwise have met. Was I limited? Yes. Did I use it as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-golino/i-worked-with-fantastic-actors-fantastic-directors-people-i-would/) [Valeria Golino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-golino/) Browse all 89 Ambivalent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being ambivalent doesn't mean that you're a relevatist, that anything goes; it just means that you show the complexity of life. 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