Love of others and love of ourselves are not alternatives. On the contrary, an attitude of love towards themselves will be found in all those who are capable of loving others.
We cannot love ourselves unless we love others, and we cannot love others unless we love ourselves. But a selfish love of ourselves makes us incapable of loving others.
Self love is not opposed to the love of other people. You cannot really love yourself and do yourself a favor without doing other people a favor, and vice versa.
To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.
A newly married couple said, "What shall we do to make our love endure?" Said the Master, "Love other things together".
I detest the idea that love between two persons can lead to salvation. All my life I have fought against this oppressive type of relationship. Instead, I believe in searching for a kind of love that somehow involves all of humanity.
Nowadays we don't think much of a man's love for an animal; we laugh at people who are attached to cats. But if we stop loving animals, aren't we bound to stop loving humans too?
Life is one big love story with hundreds of little love stories within it.
There is no love that is not an echo.
Love does not exclude; it embraces. If we don't love someone outside ourselves, then very simply, we do not love ourselves.
All our loves are contained in all our other loves.
If our love for each other really is participatory, then all other human relationships nourish it; it is inclusive, never exclusive.
