Today, in the spirit of Valentine’s day, I’ve decided to share some quotes that have helped shape my thoughts on love. I don’t claim to be any expert on this topic – it’s one of those things where I wish I could always remain a child – but through observing the world and personal experience, it’s difficult to remain fully naive.

Let’s start with Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet, a reminder of the necessity of space between relationships, and the importance of individual flourishing:

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.”

Here’s Murakami’s Norweigian Wood, revealing that it is often ourselves that prevent others from loving us:

“You don’t get it, do you?” I said. “It’s not a question of ‘what then’. Some people get a kick out of reading railroad timetables and that’s all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out of matchsticks. So what’s wrong if there happens to be one guy in the world who enjoys trying to understand you?”

From a short poem by Sanober Khan, on the significance small actions have when one is in love:

“your hand
touching mine.
this is how
galaxies
collide.”

And finally, here’s Gabriel García Márquez in the nobel-prize winning One Hundred Years of Solitude, an invitation to love fully, each moment, each day.

“If I knew that today would be the last time I’d see you, I would hug you tight and pray the Lord be the keeper of your soul. If I knew that this would be the last time you pass through this door, I’d embrace you, kiss you, and call you back for one more. If I knew that this would be the last time I would hear your voice, I’d take hold of each word to be able to hear it over and over again. If I knew this is the last time I see you, I’d tell you I love you, and would not just assume foolishly you know it already.”