After writing a new blog post for 10 consecutive weeks, I have decided it is time to transition to one of my earlier plans for the blog. On the first and third Mondays of each month, I will write a longer essay about a specific topic. On the other Mondays, I will offer a metaphor, a story, a quote, or a poem with a brief reflection.
Since we can never have too much love, I have decided to share some of my favorite quotes about love. Feel free to share your own favorite quotes or reflections on love in the Comments section.
Love quotes
“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” Elbert Hubbard
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Rumi
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr.
My wife and I read this quote by Rainer Maria Rilke at our wedding: “For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.” We find this quote from Rilke to be a powerful supplement: “Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole against the sky.”
Children asked “what is love?”
If you type “children asked what is love” on Google, you’ll get plenty. Here are nine of my favorites from that search.
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs," Chrissy, age 6.
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love," Rebecca, age 8.
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day," Mary Ann, age 4.
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen," Bobby, age 7.
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth," Billy, age 4.
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica, age 8.
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well," Tommy, age 6.
"During my piano recital, I was on the stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore," Cindy, age 8.
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka, age 6.