I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm also doing the most important thing a man can do: I'm listening to what I needed to hear from myself.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Surrendering completely to love, be it human or divine, means giving up everything, including our own well-being or our ability to make decisions. It means loving in the deepest sense of the word. The truth is that we don't want to be saved in the way God has chosen; we want to keep absolute control over our every step, to be fully conscious of our decisions, to be capable of choosing the object of our devotion.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True love requires complete surrender and relinquishing control over one's decisions.
In this quote, Paulo Coelho discusses the profound nature of love, emphasizing that true love involves surrendering oneself fully, even at the cost of personal well-being. He highlights the human tendency to desire control over our choices and our life paths, suggesting that the deepest form of love transcends this desire for control and speaks to a more profound commitment to the act of loving itself.
Themes
LoveSurrenderControlDevotionWell-Being
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a relationship counseling session to emphasize the importance of emotional surrender in love.
More from Paulo Coelho
All quotes →Each stone, each bend cries welcome to him. He identifies with the mountains and the streams, he sees something of his own soul in the plants and the animals and the birds of the field.
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We need to clear our minds of bad thoughts.
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Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God.
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The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants
Paulo CoelhoRead
Sometimes the Warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once.
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