A Sad Defense Against Feelings of Inadequacy
“In the history of humankind, no one has ever felt more lovable by hurting someone he loves.”
— Steven Stosny, You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore, p. 41
Category: Love
10 Posts
The Secret to Loving Adequately
“To love adequately, you have to tolerate feeling inadequate.”
— Steven Stosny, You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore, p. 40
Love grows when given.
“The more loving experiences we have, the more we have to bring with us when we focus on a deep, intimate relationship. The quality of love is not strained when it is shared; rather it is intensified and most assuredly improves with the experience.”
— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 77
Only Human Love
“Perhaps we would feel less frustrated if we could accept the fact that on this earth there is no perfect love, only human love. Then we could expend our energies appreciating and enhancing the love we have.”
— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 75
First Love
“First love; then do what you do. First choose peace; then say what you say. Asking, ‘What should I do?’ ‘What should I say?’ really means, ‘How do I get the outcome I want?’ ‘How do I control this person?’ Seldom are we confused if we make peace and mental wholeness our goal.”
— Hugh Prather, The Little Book of Letting Go, p. 50-51
Letting Go of Control
“Declining to make control our aim does not mean that we perform the tasks and duties before us sloppily or halfheartedly. If our purpose is awareness, all things must be done attentively. If our purpose is wholeness, all things must be done meticulously. If our purpose is to love, all things must be done with care and beauty.”
— Hugh Prather, The Little Book of Letting Go, p. 48
Love and Equality
“Those in our lives who make the most meaningful and enduring contributions to who we are have dared to take their place among equals. The world stares in amazement at the glittering adornments of the ego, but only those who walk beside us in love and equality reach our hearts and transform us.”
–Hugh Prather, The Little Book of Letting Go, p. 20
More than a Feeling
“Love isn’t what you feel. Love is what you do.”
–Madeleine L’Engle, A Wind in the Door
Standing for your Marriage
“Standing for your marriage is showing unconditional love to a spouse who does not deserve your love, and trusting God to do what he has promised, changing first you, and then your spouse, to be what the Lord intends.”
— Bob Steinkamp, www.rejoiceministries.org
Lasting Love
“There is a great deal of ‘how to’ literature about keeping love alive that can be distilled into two words: persistent effort. When we are held back, pushed aside, ignored, hurt, rejected, we must be like the heart that keeps beating even in the damaged body; we must persist. If we are not prepared to be resilient in love, we need to be prepared for a short relationship!
“Nearly everyone is guilty of having thrown up their hands in despair over some seemingly loveless act or unsolvable problem in relating. Every attempt at rectifying the situation seemed to push us into another dizzying failure until we finally lost the motivation, if not the reason, to try once more.
“Since we cannot live without love, we must rise up and try again. It helps if we keep in mind that there are few obstacles that can resist perseverance, determination, patience, and most of all, more love.”
–Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 33