Leo Buscaglia Quotes

“Love is always open arms. If you close your arms about love you will find that you are left holding only yourself.”

“A single rose can be my garden; a single friend, my world.”

“To try is to risk failure, but risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”

“Never idealize others. They will never live up to your expectations.”

“Don't smother each other. No one can grow in the shade.”

“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.”

“Live now. When you are eating, eat. When you are loving, love. when you are talking with someone, talk. When you are looking at a flower, look. Catch the beauty of the moment!”

“Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us.”

“… the opposite of love is not hate -- it's apathy. It's not giving a damn. If somebody hates me, they must "feel" something… or they couldn't possibly hate. Therefore, there's some way in which I can get to them.”

“Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means.”

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

“Find the person who will love you because of your differences and not in spite of them and you have found a lover for life.”

“What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.”

“Life is a paradise for those who love many things with a passion.”

“Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.”

“Our talents are the gift that God gives to us… What we make of our talents is our gift back to God”

“Every moment spent in unhappiness is a moment of happiness lost.”

“All of the things that are your gift for being human.”

“I got the "copyright" for LOVE! No one had ever thought of a book called simply Love. L-O-V-E. Such a good word. Such a limitless word. Such a limitless concept.”

“Go around — listen to how many times a day you say, "I love" instead of, "I hate." Isn't it interesting that children, as they learn the process of language, always learn the word "no" years before they learn the word "yes"?”

“DON'T MISS LOVE. It's an incredible gift. I love to think that the day you're born, you're given the world as your birthday present.”

“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”

“I just want to know the last time you saw a unicorn and do you still believe in primeval forests.”

“I started my Love Class as a result of the suicide of one of my most talented students. She showed no sign of her despair. Then one day she took her life. I had to ask, "What's the good of all our learning, knowing how to read and write and spell if no one ever teaches us the value of life, of our uniqueness, and personal dignity?"”

“Don't hold to anger, hurt or pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love.”

“Change is the end result of all true learning.”

“Don't walk in my head with your dirty feet.”

“If you don't like the scene you're in, if you're unhappy, if you're lonely, if you don't feel that things are happening, change your scene. Paint a new backdrop.”

“Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love.”

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”

“It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.”

“Don't spend your precious time asking "Why isn't the world a better place?" It will only be time wasted. The question to ask is "How can I make it better?" To that there is an answer.”

“Those who think they know it all have no way of finding out they don't..”

“Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, 'Did you bring joy?' The second was, 'Did you find joy?”

“You are the only you… You are the best you. You will always be the second best anyone else.”

“Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.”

“The most unfortunate thing that happens to a person who fears failure is that he limits himself by becoming afraid to try anything new.”

“Love is not a thing, it is not lost when given. You can offer your love completely to hundreds of people and still retain the same love you had originally.”

“The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.”

“To love others you must first love yourself.”

“When we give ourselves in love we become our most vulnerable. We are never safe. We become open to disappointment and hurt.”

“Time has no meaning in itself unless we choose to give it significance”

“Relish love in your old age! Aged love is like aged wine; it becomes more satisfying, more refreshing, more valuable, more appreciated and more intoxicating!”

“Each of our acts makes a statement as to our purpose.”

“In the end you have only you.”

“After all, the wrong is done. It is past and cannot be changed. We have only the present and the future upon which to move forward.”

“The hardest battle you’re ever going to fight is the battle to be just you.”

“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.”

“You can only give away what you have… If you have love, you can give it. If you don't have it, you don't have it to give.”

“It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.”

“We created time, and now we have become the slave of time.”

“The greatest risk is to risk nothing at all”

“When we cling to pain, we end up punishing ourselves.”

“This loving person is a person who abhors waste — waste of time, waste of human potential. How much time we waste. As if we were going to live forever.”

“I'd like to be remembered for being a good, kind, loving, gentle man who attempted to live wisely, and who cared a lot.”

“A total immersion in life offers the best classroom for learning to love.”

“We are born for love, but it will die if not nurtured.”

“One does not fall "in" or "out" of love. One grows in love.”

“We live in a small world. Not a leaf falls that doesn't affect a myriad of things. When we reach out to someone in love and the effect is made — everyone, everything which comes in contact with the person we've effected is better for it. Of course, the converse is true, too.”

“I don't believe in unconditional love. In fact, I think it's unwise. My love has had a condition that if ever my love keeps you from you, from your growing, and realizing your personal potential, then I must step aside. No one has the right to stand in the way of another's joy, development, or unique perceptions.”

“I have learned that love is the most powerful force available to us. When we have real love we have the strength to perform miracles.”

“A life of love is one of continual growth, where the doors and windows of experience are always open to the wonder and magic that life offers. To love is to risk living fully.”

“People are not here to meet your expectations.”

“As soon as the love relationship does not lead me to me, as soon as I in a love relationship do not lead another person to himself, this love, even if it seems to be the most secure and ecstatic attachment I have ever experienced, is not true love. For real love is dedicated to continual becoming.”

“Who is the loving person? The loving person is the person who loves him or herself. I say this so often, and people say, "Oh yes, you're so right," but they don't do it! You will never be able to love anyone else until you love yourself. Even With your Fat Thighs!”

“We take love for granted. We assume we are all perfect lovers and all we need do is wait and our love will grow and blossom as readily as a flower in spring. Not so. Love doesn't grow unless we do. It takes patience, knowledge, experience, determination, and every positive trait we possess. In addition, love is always changing and unless we stay aware and change with it, it eludes us.”