--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Living with contradiction may be nothing…" description: "\"“Living with contradiction may be nothing new to humans, but acknowledging it, and accepting it are. Even the dictionary has trouble accepting a parado..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/shellen-lubin-18891_contradiction_living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing_3142704.jpg" --- # Living with contradiction may be nothing new to humans… ![“Living with contradiction may be nothing new to humans, but acknowledging it, and accepting it are. Even the dictionary has trouble accepting a paradox, calling it 'two things that seem to be contradictory but may possibly be true.' But that's not a real paradox--a real paradox IS contradictory…” quote by Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/shellen-lubin-18891_contradiction_living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing_3142704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/shellen-lubin-18891_contradiction_living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing_3142704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/shellen-lubin-18891_contradiction_living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing_3142704.jpg) > ““Living with contradiction may be nothing new to humans, but acknowledging it, and accepting it are. Even the dictionary has trouble accepting a paradox, calling it 'two things that seem to be contradictory but may possibly be true.' But that's not a real paradox--a real paradox IS contradictory and IS true. So I don't even call them paradoxes anymore, I call them 'contradictory co-existing realities,' both in direct opposition to each other, both true at the same time.”” [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing and accepting that contradictory truths can coexist, rather than labeling them paradoxes. **In simple terms:** Accept that contradictory truths can both be true. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity, avoid oversimplification. Themes philosophy psychology truth paradox acceptance Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - conflict resolution - ethical decision making - creative problem solving Key Concepts Dialectics cognitive dissonance relativism Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate decisions when two truths conflict? - When does acceptance become complacency? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on contradiction may lead to indecision or relativism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Dictionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictionary/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [“Isn't that the key to our easy divorces? If we cared for women in the old barbarous possessive way do you suppose we'd give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/isn-t-that-the-key-to-our-easy-divorces-if-we-cared-for-women-in-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A girl asks her doctor, "Doctor, I've forgotten to take my contradictory pill!" The doctor says: "Are you ignorant?" The girl says: "Yes, three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-carson/a-girl-asks-her-doctor-doctor-i-ve-forgotten-to-take-my-contradictory/) [Frank Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-carson/) > [The form most contradictory to human life that can appear among the human species is the "self-sat-isfied man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-form-most-contradictory-to-human-life-that-can-appear-among-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [It is only through literature that one can put oneself in someone else’s shoes and understand the other’s different and contradictory sides and refrain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/it-is-only-through-literature-that-one-can-put-oneself-in-someone/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [ The typical white intellectual considers himself superior to ordinary white people for two contradictory reasons: a\] he constantly proclaims belief in human equality, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sailer/the-typical-white-intellectual-considers-himself-superior-to-ordinary/) [Steve Sailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sailer/) > [When faced with a loss, it is no use trying to recover what has gone. On the other hand, a great space has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-faced-with-a-loss-it-is-no-use-trying-to-recover-what-has-gone/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Throughout my life, I have always felt torn between my dual contradictory natures. I'm the obedient daughter and devoted friend, but also a self-destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elyse-schein/throughout-my-life-i-have-always-felt-torn-between-my-dual/) Elyse Schein > [“Away from Lev, she craves his need for her. When with him, it enervates. Why is that? She cannot help it. Nothing to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-richler/away-from-lev-she-craves-his-need-for-her-when-with-him-it-enervates/) [Emma Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-richler/) > [Ruth and I don't have a perfect marriage, but we have a great one. How can I say two things that seem so contradictory?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/ruth-and-i-don-t-have-a-perfect-marriage-but-we-have-a-great-one-how/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/strong-men-don-t-compromise-it-is-said-and-principles-should-never-be/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer - proof again of the contradictory human being. So much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/in-years-to-come-he-would-be-a-giver-of-bread-not-a-stealer-proof/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [We've got a great team sport, but we harp on about individuals. It's a bit contradictory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alun-wyn-jones/we-ve-got-a-great-team-sport-but-we-harp-on-about-individuals-it-s-a/) [Alun Wyn Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alun-wyn-jones/) > [Wise people are able to give themselves gracefully to seemingly contradictory experiences, because they know that they belong to different seasons of life, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/wise-people-are-able-to-give-themselves-gracefully-to-seemingly/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) ## More by Shellen Lubin > [“I've written about persistence and perseverance and yet for those of us with patchwork lives (projects, earnings, caretaking, home-tending, playing, friending, loving, celebrating, hurting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/i-ve-written-about-persistence-and-perseverance-and-yet-for-those-of/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“This is one of the harshest after effects of the pandemic that I am witnessing some and experiencing some, a diminished ability to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/this-is-one-of-the-harshest-after-effects-of-the-pandemic-that-i-am/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“When I talk about persistence, it isn't about persistence of equal measure every day. It's about not giving up on whatever is important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/when-i-talk-about-persistence-it-isn-t-about-persistence-of-equal/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“When all else fails, go away completely, however long feels necessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/when-all-else-fails-go-away-completely-however-long-feels-necessary/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“It's not that there is nothing real to fear-- it is that fear itself is not rationally based-- it's projecting into the future-- as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/it-s-not-that-there-is-nothing-real-to-fear-it-is-that-fear-itself-is/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“How do any of us find the strength to keep going? Because the work itself is empowering and fulfilling. And because we are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/how-do-any-of-us-find-the-strength-to-keep-going-because-the-work/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“I think there is a place where hopefulness and hopelessness co-exist, one of my beloved contradictory co-existing realities (what others call a paradox, but paradoxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/i-think-there-is-a-place-where-hopefulness-and-hopelessness-co-exist/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“Nobody adores fertilizer. Nobody devotes their life to fertilizer (unless they own a fertilizer company). But, shit, you need it to grow the crops.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/nobody-adores-fertilizer-nobody-devotes-their-life-to-fertilizer/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“It's been a relief to not have to fight so hard for at least a large group of us to question the old orthodoxy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/it-s-been-a-relief-to-not-have-to-fight-so-hard-for-at-least-a-large/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“This is a critical year--maybe the last critical year if we get this wrong--when we are all challenged to recognize how we have benefitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/this-is-a-critical-year-maybe-the-last-critical-year-if-we-get-this/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“This is one of the harshest after effects of the pandemicthat I am witnessing someand experiencing some,a diminished ability to deal with resistance,and soa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/this-is-one-of-the-harshest-after-effects-of-the-pandemicthat-i-am/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“We live in anxious times, my love, anxiety-producing times. It doesn't mean we have to be anxious, but if we've got it, we've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/we-live-in-anxious-times-my-love-anxiety-producing-times-it-doesn-t/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“Hope is bubbling in the ocean of our collective lives... I can feel the hope bubbling inside, popping little pockets of air rising to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/hope-is-bubbling-in-the-ocean-of-our-collective-lives-i-can-feel-the/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“We are not the only country that becomes way more progressive or regressive depending on who gets into office. This is the way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/we-are-not-the-only-country-that-becomes-way-more-progressive-or/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“Education itself is Marketing--marketing tools and perspectives to people who don't necessarily realize why they need them, how it will serve them, what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/education-itself-is-marketing-marketing-tools-and-perspectives-to/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) [Explore all 34 Shellen Lubin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) ## More Contradiction quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [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/) > [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [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/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“A truth is not necessary, because we negatively are not able to conceive the actual existence of the opposite thereof;but a truth is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-dabney/a-truth-is-not-necessary-because-we-negatively-are-not-able-to/) R.L. Dabney > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. It is not considered sufficient that the law should guarantee to every citizen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/here-i-encounter-the-most-popular-fallacy-of-our-times-it-is-not/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [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/) [Browse all 1,263 Contradiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Living with contradiction may be nothing new to humans, but acknowledging it, and accepting it are. Even the dictionary has trouble accepting a paradox, calling it 'two things that seem to be contradictory but may possibly be true.' But that's not a real paradox--a real paradox IS contradictory and IS true. So I don't even call them paradoxes anymore, I call them 'contradictory co-existing realities,' both in direct opposition to each other, both true at the same time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shellen Lubin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing-new-to-humans-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contradiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing-new-to-humans-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/shellen-lubin-18891_contradiction_living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing_3142704.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/shellen-lubin-18891_contradiction_living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing_3142704.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6a/shellen-lubin-18891_contradiction_living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing_3142704.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Living with contradiction may be nothing new to humans, but acknowledging it, and accepting it are. Even the…” — Shellen Lubin", "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": "Shellen Lubin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Living with contradiction may be nothing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing-new-to-humans-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/living-with-contradiction-may-be-nothing-new-to-humans-but/#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 } } ] } ```