---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We insist, it seems, on living."
description: "\"We insist, it seems, on living.\" — Virginia Woolf"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/virginia-woolf-49_insist_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-3173514_3173514.jpg"
---

#  We insist, it seems, on living.

![“We insist, it seems, on living.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/virginia-woolf-49_insist_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-3173514_3173514.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/virginia-woolf-49_insist_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-3173514_3173514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/virginia-woolf-49_insist_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-3173514_3173514.jpg)

> “We insist, it seems, on living.”

[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.

Living is an ongoing insistence despite uncertainty.

**In simple terms:** We keep living even when unclear.

Key Takeaway

Embrace life's persistence.

Themes

existence resilience uncertainty

Mood

thoughtful hopeful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- daily routines
- creative work
- health challenges

Key Concepts

modernism philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives your persistence daily?
- How do you find purpose amid uncertainty?

A Different Perspective

Life's meaning may feel ambiguous without purpose.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [“We insist, it seems, on living. Then again, indifference descends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-insist-it-seems-on-living-then-again-indifference-descends/)

[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/)

> [Before you insist someone changes, remember first how hard it is to change yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/before-you-insist-someone-changes-remember-first-how-hard-it-is-to/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-trouble-with-having-an-open-mind-of-course-is-that-people-will/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [“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 Insist quotes

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [ 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/)

> [“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/)

> [The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-trouble-with-having-an-open-mind-of-course-is-that-people-will/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [Before you insist someone changes, remember first how hard it is to change yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/before-you-insist-someone-changes-remember-first-how-hard-it-is-to/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [“I'm tired of the way we both pretend. Tired of always wanting and never giving in. I can feel it in my skin, see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/i-m-tired-of-the-way-we-both-pretend-tired-of-always-wanting-and/)

[Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/)

> [“I hate it when people insist on wrangling with you about something, then try to stop as soon as they see the arguments are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fine/i-hate-it-when-people-insist-on-wrangling-with-you-about-something/)

[Anne Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fine/)

> [“No one else is going to pay you what you deserve unless you insist on it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-ryan/no-one-else-is-going-to-pay-you-what-you-deserve-unless-you-insist-on/)

Liz Ryan

> [The class has become over the years fairly large, running to three hundred or more, but I always insist upon reading all the student…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dundes/the-class-has-become-over-the-years-fairly-large-running-to-three/)

[Alan Dundes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dundes/)

> [Man seems to insist on ignoring the lessons available from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/man-seems-to-insist-on-ignoring-the-lessons-available-from-history/)

[Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/)

> [All my lovers have been geniuses; it's the one thing that I insist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/all-my-lovers-have-been-geniuses-it-s-the-one-thing-that-i-insist/)

[Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/)

Browse all 164 Insist quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We insist, it seems, on living.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Virginia Woolf"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-insist-it-seems-on-living/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Insist"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-insist-it-seems-on-living/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/virginia-woolf-49_insist_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-3173514_3173514.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/virginia-woolf-49_insist_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-3173514_3173514.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/virginia-woolf-49_insist_we-insist-it-seems-on-living-3173514_3173514.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We insist, it seems, on living.” — Virginia Woolf",
                "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": "Virginia Woolf",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We insist, it seems, on living.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-insist-it-seems-on-living/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-insist-it-seems-on-living/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```