I love three things," I then say. "I love a dream of love I once had, I love you, and I love this patch of earth." "And which do you love best?" "The dream.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the depth of love for an idealized dream, a person, and the beauty of nature.
In this quote, Knut Hamsun illustrates a complex relationship with love, highlighting that while personal connections and the beauty of the world are cherished, there is an even deeper affection for the dream of love itself. This suggests that dreams and ideals can often hold a profound significance that surpasses tangible relationships and the physical environment.
In practice
Using this quote in a romantic dinner to express deep feelings about love and dreams.
The intelligent poor individual was a much finer observer than the intelligent rich one. The poor individual looks around him at every step, listens suspiciously to every word he hears from the people he meets; thus, every step he takes presents a problem, a task, for his thoughts and feelings. He is alert and sensitive, he is experienced, his soul has been burned.
Earth and sea merged, the sea tossed itself in the air in a fantastic dance, into the shapes of men and horses and tattered banners. I stood in the lee of an overhanging rock and thought of many things.
The writer must be able to revel and roll in the abundance of words; he must know not only the direct but also the secret power of a word. There are overtones and undertones to a word, and lateral echoes, too.
The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and like a beggar. Why? Ask the dust on the road and the falling leaves, ask the mysterious God of life; for no one knows such things. She gave him nothing, no nothing did she give him and yet he thanked her. She said: Give me your peace and your reason! And he was only sorry she did not ask for his life.
No worse fate can befall a young man or woman than becoming prematurely entrenched in prudence and negation.
In old age we are like a batch of letters that someone has sent. We are no longer in the past, we have arrived.
Be the green grass above me, with showers and dewdrops wet; and if thou wilt, remember, and if thou wilt, forget.
Your naked body should only belong to those who fall in love with your naked soul.
You have been walking the ocean's edge, holding up your robes to keep them dry. You must dive naked under and deeper under, a thousand times deeper. Love flows down. The ground submits to the sky and suffers what comes. Tell me, is the earth worse for giving in like that? Do not put blankets over the drum. Open completely.
Each time anyone comes in contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us. We must radiate God's love.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
Above all, I am motivated by the most mysterious drive we ever experience -that of love - I don't think there's any influence on my life that compares with love.
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