Why does love feel like a battlefield of the heart? These 34 profound quotes from poets, philosophers, and thinkers explore the paradoxes, contradictions, and challenges of complicated love. From the pain of distance to the hope of reunion, they reveal why love, despite its trials, remains life’s most enriching experience.
In This Article:
Quotes on Distance, Pain, and Hope in Love
“Love is the star that guides lost lovers in the desert of separation.”
— Khalil Gibran
“The boat of love often breaks against the daily rock.”
— Sigmund Freud
“Love is born from nothing, lives from everything and dies from nothing.”
— Théophile Gautier
“Love is a war you win by running away.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte
“Love is like faith: when you have it, no explanation is necessary; when you don’t have it, no explanation is possible.”
— Paul Gerald
“Impossible love is the most beautiful of all.”
— Honoré de Balzac
“To love madly is to love through and through.”
— Gustave Flaubert
“Love is a mystery that no logic can solve.”
Nourredine RAHIM
“Love is a game where it takes two to win, one to lose.”
— Paul Léautaud
“Love is the story of women’s lives; it is an episode in that of men.”
— Madame de Staël
“Love is smoke made from the vapor of sighs.”
— William Shakespeare
“Love is a wild force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us.”
— Paulo Coelho
“Love is like war: easy to start, hard to end, impossible to forget.”
Nourredine RAHIM
“Love is a double-edged shield – it can protect us or hurt us deeply.”
Nourredine RAHIM
“Love is a fire. But no one knows if it will warm our hearts or burn our houses.”
— Joan Crawford
“Love is a rose: each petal is an illusion, each thorn a reality.”
— Charles Baudelaire
“Absence is to love what the wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it kindles the great.”
— Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
“Long distance love is like a fire in straw, it burns brightly but does not last.”
Arab proverb
“Love is blind, and lovers cannot see the follies they commit.”
— William Shakespeare
“In love, there is always one who kisses and the other who turns the cheek.”
Unknown
“Love is a sweet madness, but a madness nonetheless.”
Chinese proverb
“Distance shortens small passions and lengthens great ones, like the wind that extinguishes the candle and lights the fire.”
— Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
“You are missing only one being, and everything is depopulated.”
— Alphonse de Lamartine
“Wherever I go, whatever I do, every moment, I think of you.”
— Jean-Jacques Goldman
“Love is infinity within the reach of poodles.”
— Louis-Ferdinand Céline
“There are two tragedies in life. One is losing what you love, the other is getting it.”
— Oscar Wilde
“Distance makes everything infinitely more precious.”
— Simone de Beauvoir
“I learned that waiting is sometimes better than the expected encounter.”
— Paulo Coelho
“Love makes you blind, and marriage gives you sight.”
— Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
“Love is the art of making life complicated.”
Unknown
“When we love, we often doubt what we believe most.”
— Jean de La Bruyère
“Love is a mental illness.”
— Platoon
“What makes love arguments so bitter is that there is truth in the reproaches and falsehood in the excuses.”—
— Nicolas de Chamfort
“There is no distant love. Love erases the distance and fills the absence.”
— Pierre Reverdy
These quotes come from great authors, poets, philosophers and artists who have reflected on the complexity of love. They capture the pain of absence, the strength of feelings despite separation, and the hope of reunion. I hope they inspire and comfort you if you are going through a complicated relationship.
Why Is Love So Complicated?
Love is often called life’s greatest joy, yet it’s rarely a smooth journey. Romantic relationships are filled with doubts, obstacles, and emotional turbulence. Why is love so complex?
At its core, love demands vulnerability—offering your heart without certainty of reciprocation. It’s a leap of faith that risks pain, rejection, or misunderstanding. As Blaise Pascal said, “The heart has its reasons that reason does not know.”
- Balancing connection and independence: Love requires navigating the tension between intimacy and personal freedom.
- Confronting insecurities: It unearths past wounds and challenges our self-worth.
- Embracing uniqueness: Every relationship is a unique dance, shaped by individual histories and expectations.
- Defying logic: Love’s irrational nature resists control, making it unpredictable.
- Bridging differences: Cultural, social, or personal differences can complicate understanding.
Yet, love’s complexity is what makes it precious. Its moments of harmony and connection outweigh the struggles, touching the essence of our humanity. In my own life, I’ve seen love falter under distance but grow stronger through patience—a reminder that its challenges forge deeper bonds.
Read more: John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s Intense Love Story
