“In order to hear Love’s words, you must allow Love to approach. However, when it does draw near, we fear what it might say to us, because Love is free and is not ruled by our will or by what we do.

All lovers know this but refuse to accept it. They think they can seduce Love through submission, power, beauty, wealth, tears, and smiles.

True Love, however, is the love that seduces and will never allow itself to be seduced. Love transforms, Love heals.

But sometimes it lays deadly traps and ends up destroying the person who decided to surrender himself completely. How can the force that moves the world and keeps the stars in their places be at once so creative and so devastating?

We are used to thinking that what we give is the same as what we receive, but people who love expecting to be loved in return are wasting their time.

Love is an act of faith, not an exchange.

Life is too short for us to keep important words like “I love you” locked in our hearts. But do not always expect to hear the same words back. We love because we need to love. Otherwise, love loses all meaning and the sun ceases to shine.

A rose dreams of enjoying the company of bees, but none appears. The sun asks:
“Aren’t you tired of waiting?”
“Yes,” answers the rose, “but if I close my petals, I will wither and die.”

Our great goal in life is to love. The rest is silence.
We need to love. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

Paulo Coelho – Manuscript Found in Accra