And enough for me that when my hand touched your shoulder, you leaned on me; and when you felt me slip away, you called my name.
Orson Scott CardRead
For children love is a feeling; for adults, it is a decision. Children wait to learn if their love is true by seeing how long it lasts; adults make their love true by never wavering from their commitment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Children experience love as an emotion, while adults view it as a commitment involving conscious choices.
This quote by Orson Scott Card contrasts the nature of love as perceived by children and adults. Children often understand love as a fleeting feeling, dependent on circumstances and how long someone can maintain that affection. In contrast, adults recognize that love involves deeper commitment and effort, choosing to remain devoted to their partner regardless of challenges, thereby making their love last through conscious decisions rather than passive experiences.
Themes
LoveCommitmentChildrenAdultsFeelingsDecisions
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a relationship workshop to illustrate different perspectives on love.
More from Orson Scott Card
All quotes →The world is always a democracy in times of flux, and the man with the best voice will win.
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Never mind that the story had turned out to be lies and foolishness—there was always folks stupid enough to say, Where there's smoke there's fire, when the saying should have been, Where there's scandalous lies there's always malicious believers and spreaders-around, regardless of evidence.
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The lives of all people flow through time, and, regardless of how brutal one moment may be, how filled with grief or pain or fear, time flows through all lives equally.
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You take a step, then another. That's the journey. But to take a step with your eyes open is not a journey at all, it's a remaking of your own mind.
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I've had your tears with mine, and you've had mine with yours. I think that's more intimate even than a kiss.
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