--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I live with that contradiction daily. It…" description: "\"I live with that contradiction daily. It is a constant struggle. I struggle very deeply. I don't think I've said this to anyone, but I've wondered if I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/eve-ensler-1402_congo_i-live-with-that-contradiction-daily-it_1917101.jpg" --- # I live with that contradiction daily. It is a constant… ![“I live with that contradiction daily. It is a constant struggle. I struggle very deeply. I don't think I've said this to anyone, but I've wondered if I just want to give up this world and live in the Congo and just be there. But I don't think that's what they need from me.” quote by Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/eve-ensler-1402_congo_i-live-with-that-contradiction-daily-it_1917101.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/eve-ensler-1402_congo_i-live-with-that-contradiction-daily-it_1917101.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/eve-ensler-1402_congo_i-live-with-that-contradiction-daily-it_1917101.jpg) > “I live with that contradiction daily. It is a constant struggle. I struggle very deeply. I don't think I've said this to anyone, but I've wondered if I just want to give up this world and live in the Congo and just be there. But I don't think that's what they need from me.” [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels deep internal conflict and contemplates escape, yet feels responsibility to others. **In simple terms:** Struggling with inner turmoil while feeling duty to others. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain, seek support, and balance self‑care with responsibility. Themes conflict responsibility mental health escape purpose Mood melancholic hopeful reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - confiding in trusted friend - volunteering - mindfulness practice Key Concepts existential dread self‑sacrifice social duty Questions to Reflect On - What support could help you stay grounded? - How can you honor both self‑care and duty? A Different Perspective Escaping may not resolve underlying issues and could harm relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Congo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congo/) [Constant struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant-struggle/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“i struggle so deeply to understand how someone can pour their entire soul blood and energy into someone without wanting anything in return”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-struggle-so-deeply-to-understand-how-someone-can-pour-their-entire/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [I feel very passionate that we need CAT scanners in every country in the world. There's not a CAT scanner in all of eastern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-feel-very-passionate-that-we-need-cat-scanners-in-every-country-in/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The world has done that already - possessed the Congo and pillaged her and dominated her and robbed her of agency and occupation. Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-world-has-done-that-already-possessed-the-congo-and-pillaged-her/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I'm a nomad. 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So if you're struggling, don't worry, everyone else has or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/don-t-struggle-about-the-struggle-in-other-words-life-s-full-of-ups/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [“Without suffering there is no struggle, without struggle no victory, without victory no crown." Maria van Beethoven (Beethoven's mom)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-swafford/without-suffering-there-is-no-struggle-without-struggle-no-victory/) [Jan Swafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-swafford/) > [I do not believe in struggle. Struggle is a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kubra-sait/i-do-not-believe-in-struggle-struggle-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Kubra Sait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kubra-sait/) ## More by Eve Ensler > [I have been struggling to find my way back into my body my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-have-been-struggling-to-find-my-way-back-into-my-body-my-whole-life/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [When I wrote 'The Good Body,' I turned 40 and suddenly had this stomach. It seemed like the end of the world. Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-wrote-the-good-body-i-turned-40-and-suddenly-had-this-stomach/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cherish-your-solitude-take-trains-by-yourself-to-places-you-have/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they're waiting for someone to say, 'You're good, you're pretty, I give you permission'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/why-are-women-immobile-because-so-many-feel-like-they-re-waiting-for/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. 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It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-clitoris-is-pure-in-purpose-it-is-the-only-organ-in-the-body/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/stop-fixing-your-bodies-and-start-fixing-the-world/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I believe in irony. And if V-Day has taught me anything, it's that if you go out with artistic, outrageous irony and humor, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-believe-in-irony-and-if-v-day-has-taught-me-anything-it-s-that-if/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [People didn't feel so much shame around it and that they didn't feel so much humiliation around it. And the other thing that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/people-didn-t-feel-so-much-shame-around-it-and-that-they-didn-t-feel/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cancer essentially lives in us and becomes activated at some point, and then cells begin to psychotically divide. 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We lock people up at a rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/today-the-united-states-has-the-highest-prison-population-in-the/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) [Explore all 241 Eve Ensler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## More Congo quotes > [“No one can know, of course, accurate population figures from an era before there was a census, but many officials on the ground at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hochschild/no-one-can-know-of-course-accurate-population-figures-from-an-era/) [Adam Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hochschild/) > [“My rights to the Congo are not for sharing; they are the fruits of my labours and my expenditures . . . The adversaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-rights-to-the-congo-are-not-for-sharing-they-are-the-fruits-of-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't know how to stop the atrocities. 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French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-french/) > [“Stanley must have realized that this postponement would probably be fatal. But while he did not give up, he never for a moment thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jeal/stanley-must-have-realized-that-this-postponement-would-probably-be/) Tim Jeal > [I started, actually, as an analyst on African affairs, mainly on Al Jazeera. I remember the first few series were about Saudi students, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/i-started-actually-as-an-analyst-on-african-affairs-mainly-on-al/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [I can't be calm when I drive through sections of Atlanta that look more like Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, than America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-mckinney/i-can-t-be-calm-when-i-drive-through-sections-of-atlanta-that-look/) [Cynthia McKinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-mckinney/) > [In abstract mathematics or abstract art, the purpose is to describe inner states of our mind, and to explore the limits of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjan-sundaram/in-abstract-mathematics-or-abstract-art-the-purpose-is-to-describe/) [Anjan Sundaram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjan-sundaram/) > [“The country is like a great sponge—it finally absorbs you. 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