“If we do not know how to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves, we cannot take care of the people we love. Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh: 365 days of practical, powerful teachings from the beloved Zen teacher

Last update Jan. 13, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "If we do not know how to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves, we cannot take care of the people we love. Lovin…" by Thich Nhat Hanh?

Thich Nhat Hanh169

Religious leader and peace activist 1926

Related quotes

“Genuine love should first be directed at oneself; if we do not love ourselves, how can we love others?”

Tenzin Gyatso (1935) spiritual leader of Tibet

“No one actually needs another person or another person's love to survive. Love is when we have irrationally convinced ourselves that we do.”

Gabrielle Zevin book Elsewhere

Source: Elsewhere

“We never love anyone. Not really. We only love our idea of another person. It is some conception of our own that we love. We love ourselves, in fact.”

William Boyd (1952) British writer

Source: Cork

“Our love for children is so immediate in part because we feel their powerlessness immediately; conversely, part of the way we deny our love for men is by denying men’s powerlessness. Too often we have confused love for men with respect for them, especially for their power to take care of us---which is really just love for ourselves.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Source: Why Men Are the Way They Are (1988), p. 360.

“The essence of love is getting out of oneself and into others. When we care less about our feelings, our rights, our happiness, our security, etc., and begin to concern ourselves with the feelings, rights, happiness, and security of others, we will have found the true power of love.”

Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer

A Magazine of People and Possibilities interview (1998)

“How we love others is affected by how we love ourselves, and for the first time in a long time, I was whole.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Source: Succubus Revealed

“The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves—say rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”

Victor Hugo book Les Misérables

Variant: The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
Source: Les Misérables