--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But, the relationships that I see work…" description: "\"But, the relationships that I see work - As long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/mark-ruffalo-3142_humans_but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as_204077.jpg" --- # But, the relationships that I see work - As long as… ![“But, the relationships that I see work - As long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another human being.” quote by Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/mark-ruffalo-3142_humans_but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as_204077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/mark-ruffalo-3142_humans_but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as_204077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/mark-ruffalo-3142_humans_but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as_204077.jpg) > “But, the relationships that I see work - As long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another human being.” [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truthful communication is essential; honesty requires saying uncomfortable things to others. **In simple terms:** Honesty means saying hard truths. Key Takeaway Speak truth even when uncomfortable. Themes communication honesty relationships Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - team meetings - conflict resolution - leadership discussions Key Concepts ethical dialogue authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you foster a culture where hard truths are welcomed? - What are the risks of avoiding uncomfortable conversations? A Different Perspective People may avoid truth to preserve comfort, risking misunderstandings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [If you tell a lie that's big enough, and you tell it often enough, people will believe you're telling the truth, even if what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-belzer/if-you-tell-a-lie-that-s-big-enough-and-you-tell-it-often-enough/) [Richard Belzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-belzer/) > [“Telling the truth can be a dirty job.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-marciano/telling-the-truth-can-be-a-dirty-job/) [Francesca Marciano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-marciano/) > [All we can do is go around telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/all-we-can-do-is-go-around-telling-the-truth/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [When people get up on the stage and say, "I've got AIDS," or "I'm in recovery," gosh, it's hard for them. It's like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/when-people-get-up-on-the-stage-and-say-i-ve-got-aids-or-i-m-in/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [“Sometimes keeping a secret seems like the right thing to do because telling the truth might hurt someone and makes it seem like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginny-l-yttrup/sometimes-keeping-a-secret-seems-like-the-right-thing-to-do-because/) [Ginny L. Yttrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginny-l-yttrup/) > [Outing is a nasty word for telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/outing-is-a-nasty-word-for-telling-the-truth/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [I've always seen writing as a way of telling the truth. For me, writing is about truth. I have always tried to be faithful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/i-ve-always-seen-writing-as-a-way-of-telling-the-truth-for-me-writing/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [“You don’t need creativity when you’re telling the truth,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-e-richards/you-don-t-need-creativity-when-you-re-telling-the-truth/) [Douglas E. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-e-richards/) > [I feel a responsibility for telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/future/i-feel-a-responsibility-for-telling-the-truth/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/future/) > [Until I came out, my acting was all about disguise, and thereafter it became about telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/until-i-came-out-my-acting-was-all-about-disguise-and-thereafter-it/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [Some people don't like telling the truth... And some people can't handle hearing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-don-t-like-telling-the-truth-and-some-people-can-t-handle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know the words that I say are bad and can hurt you but its just me telling the truth if you don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shar-rae/i-know-the-words-that-i-say-are-bad-and-can-hurt-you-but-its-just-me/) [Shar-rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shar-rae/) > [“He wrote: ‘We make ourselves real by telling the truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-durham/he-wrote-we-make-ourselves-real-by-telling-the-truth/) [Geoffrey Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-durham/) > [I don't think telling the truth ever gets anyone in trouble in the long run. Maybe the day after, but not in the long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-spurrier/i-don-t-think-telling-the-truth-ever-gets-anyone-in-trouble-in-the/) [Steve Spurrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-spurrier/) > [“Publicly telling the truth on social media can be one of the most effective healing journeys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/publicly-telling-the-truth-on-social-media-can-be-one-of-the-most/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Mark Ruffalo > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I try to do the things that speak to me in one way or another, and sometimes I'm even drastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-try-to-do-the-things-that-speak-to-me-in-one-way-or-another-and/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I got into acting because I wanted to act and I love acting. That's my true north: to be creative and to be challenged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-got-into-acting-because-i-wanted-to-act-and-i-love-acting-that-s-my/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I have a bag full of stuff that I give to people when they come to my house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-have-a-bag-full-of-stuff-that-i-give-to-people-when-they-come-to-my/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [When you have to fight for the things you love, you have to measure the value of those things in ways you may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/when-you-have-to-fight-for-the-things-you-love-you-have-to-measure/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I'm very nervous in the beginning and then I get in there and start doing my work and I feel more comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-m-very-nervous-in-the-beginning-and-then-i-get-in-there-and-start/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [We only gain collectively by acting now. We gain by one day not having to pay a thing for fuel. We gain by having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/we-only-gain-collectively-by-acting-now-we-gain-by-one-day-not-having/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I didn't really have any interest in producing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-didn-t-really-have-any-interest-in-producing-anything/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [For some reason, my whole life has been, 'You can't do this, you can't do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/for-some-reason-my-whole-life-has-been-you-can-t-do-this-you-can-t-do/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I still feel like I'm trying to make it. It's hard to shed the struggling actor thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-still-feel-like-i-m-trying-to-make-it-it-s-hard-to-shed-the/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [A leader in America or anyone who says they truly care about this nation without taking some kind of action is either a liar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/a-leader-in-america-or-anyone-who-says-they-truly-care-about-this/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [There's a level of trust that you have to have with somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-s-a-level-of-trust-that-you-have-to-have-with-somebody/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I don't like this idea of Method. I come from that school, but what I was taught was that it's your imagination. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-don-t-like-this-idea-of-method-i-come-from-that-school-but-what-i/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I like to think the movies that I've picked have something worthwhile to say. Something relevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-like-to-think-the-movies-that-i-ve-picked-have-something-worthwhile/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I enjoyed growing up part of my life in Virginia Beach. We had the ocean and the beach and a beautiful landscape. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-enjoyed-growing-up-part-of-my-life-in-virginia-beach-we-had-the/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) [Explore all 138 Mark Ruffalo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) ## More Humans quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Browse all 32,126 Humans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But, the relationships that I see work - As long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another human being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Ruffalo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-as-they-re-telling-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-as-they-re-telling-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/mark-ruffalo-3142_humans_but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as_204077.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/mark-ruffalo-3142_humans_but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as_204077.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/mark-ruffalo-3142_humans_but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as_204077.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But, the relationships that I see work - As long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that…” — Mark Ruffalo", "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": "Mark Ruffalo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But, the relationships that I see...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-as-they-re-telling-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-as-they-re-telling-the/#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 } } ] } ```