Hopefully love, for you, is an everyday affair, but Valentine’s Day offers a chance to express it more formally. It is a day to show your partner, best friend, pet, sibling, parent, grand-parent and others just how much you cherish them. A thoughtful gift is a good idea but sometimes telling someone how you feel, in person or in a card, is what really touches them. It can be difficult to find the right words. So we asked a few seniors for some quotes they feel are particularly effective in hopes they might help you.
Several cited famous sayings that focused on another person. From Hermann Hesse there is, “If I know what love is, it is because of you.” Katharine Hepburn, known for her relationship with Spencer Tracy, once said, “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.” Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “I love her and that’s the beginning and end of everything.”
Some preferred a different tack – like Lucille Ball’s inward focused, “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line” or Eva Gabor’s “Love is a game that two can plan and both win.” Former President Barack Obama talked about love and hardship, stating, “If you work through the tough times, the respect and love you feel deepens.” Tolstoy wrote about being realistic scribing, “When you love someone, you love the whole person just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be.” Many other liked quotes focused on acts and preferred Saint Ignatius saying, “Love is shown more in deeds than in words.”
Some seniors focused on the lighter side and like cartoonist Charles Shultz saying, “All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt” or Dr. Love, Leo Buscaglia’s, “A life lived in love will never be dull.” Mill Valley’s own Joan Baez is famous for her quote that, “That’s all nonviolence is – organized love.” Perhaps all the above quotes were summarized by Henry Miller when he penned, “The only thing we never get enough of is love; and the only thing we never give enough of is love.”
We could all use more love, especially after nearly three years of a pandemic in which we all had to separate ourselves somewhat for those we care most about. So whether you are enjoying it with a special partner, envisioning it with a potential soul mate, reminiscing about a love long gone, looking inward or just looking for some fun, here’s hoping you found in the quotes something that will help you express your love to those most important to you. Happy Valentine’s Month!