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
Love is only a small thing, enough for one person, and any suggestion that the heart might be larger than this is considered perverse.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love is a precious yet limited experience that is often misconceived as something that can encompass more than one person's heart.
In this quote, Paulo Coelho reflects on the nature of love, suggesting that true love is a confined feeling that can only genuinely belong to one person at a time. The idea that the heart could love broadly or deeply for multiple people simultaneously is criticized as a misunderstanding of the true essence of love, which is intimate and individual.
Themes
LoveHeartPerceptionRelationshipIntimacy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a relationship workshop.
More from Paulo Coelho
All quotes βEach 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.
Paulo CoelhoRead
We need to clear our minds of bad thoughts.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God.
Paulo CoelhoRead
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.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Similar quotes
There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.
Jane AustenRead
Coming near him like a ballet dancer she took a leap towards him, and he, frightened by her vehemence, and fearing that she would crash against him, instinctively became absolutely rigid, and she felt herself embracing a statue.
Anais NinRead
Everything hurts, every single thing including the weight of him and I'm crying because it hurts and he's telling me he's sorry over and over again, and I figure somewhere down the track we'll work out the right way of doing this but I don't want to let go, because tonight I'm not looking for anything more than being a part of him. Because being a part of him isn't just anything. It's kind of everything.
Melina MarchettaRead
I love to be individual, to step beyond gender.
Annie LennoxRead
I could fall in love with a sumo wrestler if he told stories and made me laugh. Obviously, it would be easier if someone was African-American and lived next door and went to the same church. Because then I wouldn't have to translate.
Maya AngelouRead
But thou, through good and evil, praise and blame,_x000D_ _x000D_ Wilt not thou love me for myself alone?_x000D_ _x000D_ Yes, thou wilt love me with exceeding love,_x000D_ _x000D_ And I will tenfold all that love repay;_x000D_ _x000D_ Still smiling, though the tender may reprove,_x000D_ _x000D_ Still faithful, though the trusted may betray.
Thomas B. MacaulayRead