--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We insist, it seems, on living. Then…" description: "\"“We insist, it seems, on living. Then again, indifference descends.”\" — Virginia Woolf" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/virginia-woolf-49_indifference_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-then-again_2752997.jpg" --- # We insist, it seems, on living. Then again, indifference… ![“We insist, it seems, on living. Then again, indifference descends.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/virginia-woolf-49_indifference_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-then-again_2752997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/virginia-woolf-49_indifference_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-then-again_2752997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/virginia-woolf-49_indifference_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-then-again_2752997.jpg) > ““We insist, it seems, on living. Then again, indifference descends.”” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We cling to living, yet indifference can creep in, highlighting the tension between vitality and apathy **In simple terms:** Living passionately can be threatened by indifference Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness to counteract indifference Themes existential psychology vitality apathy Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily reflection - mindful practice - creative expression Key Concepts human condition inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - What moments reveal your true engagement? - How can you sustain vitality amid routine? A Different Perspective Indifference may be a protective response to burnout ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Indifference Descends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference-descends-3112893/) [Insist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insist/) [Insist Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insist-living-1098838/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-indifference-3112894/) ## Related quotes > [I cannot remember my past, my nose, or the colour of my eyes, or what my general opinion of myself is. Only in moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-cannot-remember-my-past-my-nose-or-the-colour-of-my-eyes-or-what-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For myself, I have no aim. I have no ambition. I will let myself be carried on by the general impulse. The surface of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-myself-i-have-no-aim-i-have-no-ambition-i-will-let-myself-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We insist, it seems, on living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-insist-it-seems-on-living/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Schopenhauer once put it, we insist on living our lives "with great interest and much solicitude as long as possible, just as we blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-ruti/schopenhauer-once-put-it-we-insist-on-living-our-lives-with-great/) [Mari Ruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-ruti/) > [I never understand why people have children and then insist on living as though nothing has shifted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-turlington/i-never-understand-why-people-have-children-and-then-insist-on-living/) [Christy Turlington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-turlington/) > [If people insist on living as if there's no tomorrow, there really won't be one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/if-people-insist-on-living-as-if-there-s-no-tomorrow-there-really-won/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [To insist on living until we die may be one of life's greatest virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/to-insist-on-living-until-we-die-may-be-one-of-life-s-greatest-virtues/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“Why is it you intense political types insist on living entirely in the symbolic world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-willingham/why-is-it-you-intense-political-types-insist-on-living-entirely-in/) [Bill Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-willingham/) > [“Don't resist. Don't insist. Just Move over. Its's a divine takeover.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-a-smikle/don-t-resist-don-t-insist-just-move-over-its-s-a-divine-takeover/) [Maisie A. Smikle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-a-smikle/) > [ Conditions in the \[movie\] industry somehow propose the paradox: "We brought you here for your individuality but while you're here we insist that you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/conditions-in-the-movie-industry-somehow-propose-the-paradox-we/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [We don't mind if someone wants to give us advice; we only object if they insist we take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-don-t-mind-if-someone-wants-to-give-us-advice-we-only-object-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Insist on yourself. Never imitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/insist-on-yourself-never-imitate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [I do not believe in eating fish hot. People always insist on hot fish, but that leaves it dried out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/i-do-not-believe-in-eating-fish-hot-people-always-insist-on-hot-fish/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More Indifference quotes > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/) [Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/) > [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) [Arthur Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-graham/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/desire-is-half-of-life-indifference-is-half-of-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [One's own troubles can be borne with fortitude; only a monster of indifference can bear the sufferings of others with fortitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ertz/one-s-own-troubles-can-be-borne-with-fortitude-only-a-monster-of/) [Susan Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ertz/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [Indifference to one's own faith is no proof of tolerance. Loyalty to one's own is part of a larger loyalty to faith generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abba-hillel-silver/indifference-to-one-s-own-faith-is-no-proof-of-tolerance-loyalty-to/) [Abba Hillel Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abba-hillel-silver/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) [Browse all 1,128 Indifference quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We insist, it seems, on living. 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