One of the ironies of courage, and the reason why we prize it so highly, is that we find it easier to be brave for someone else than we do for ourselves alone.
Gregory David RobertsRead
at first, when we truly love someone, our greatest fear is that the loved one will stop loving us. what we should fear and dread, of course, is that we wont stop loving them, even after they are dead and gone. for i still love you with the whole of my heart. i still love you. and sometimes, my friend, the love that i have and cant give to you, crushed the breast from my chest. soemtimes, even now, my heart is drowning in a sorrow that has no stars without you, and no laughter, and no sleep.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the deep emotional struggles that come with loving someone, particularly the fear of losing that love which can endure even after death.
The quote expresses the profound fear that arises when we truly love someone; it's not necessarily the fear of being unloved in return, but the greater dread of continuing to love someone who is no longer present. It emphasizes the lasting nature of love, which can lead to intense sorrow and longing even after a loved one is gone, portraying love as a powerful and sometimes painful force that transcends loss.
Themes
LoveLossSorrowHeartacheLonging
In practice
Example use cases
During a memorial service, this quote could be shared to reflect on the enduring love for someone who has passed.
More from Gregory David Roberts
All quotes →But I smiled, and smiling was easy, no matter how strange and disorienting the street seemed to be. I was a fugitive. I was a wanted man, a hunted man, with a price on my head. And I was still one step ahead of them. I was free. Every day, when you're on the run, is the whole of your life. Every free minute is a short story with a happy ending.
Gregory David RobertsRead
It's forgiveness that makes us what we are. Without forgiveness, our species would've annihilated itself in endless retributions. Without forgiveness, there would be no history. Without that hope, there would be no art, for every work of art is in some way an act of forgiveness. Without that dream, there would be no love, for every act of love is in some way a promise to forgive. We live on because we can love, and we love because we can forgive.
Gregory David RobertsRead
you can't kill love. you can't even kill it with hate. you can kill in-love, and loving, and even loveliness. you can kill them all, or numb them into dense, leaden regret, but you can't kill love itself. love is the passionate search for a truth other than your own; and once you feel it, honestly and completely, love is forever. every act of love, every moment of the heart reaching out, is a part of the universal good: it's a part of God, or what we call God, and it can never die.
Gregory David RobertsRead
Some feelings sink so deep into the heart that only loneliness can help you find them again. Some truths are so painful that only shame can help you live with them. Some things are so sad that only your soul can do the crying for them.
Gregory David RobertsRead
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