--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love does not cause suffering: what…" description: "\"Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love's opposite\" — Antoine de Saint-Exupery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_causes_love-does-not-cause-suffering-what-cause_519532.png" --- # Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense… ![“Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love's opposite” quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_causes_love-does-not-cause-suffering-what-cause_519532.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_causes_love-does-not-cause-suffering-what-cause_519532.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_causes_love-does-not-cause-suffering-what-cause_519532.png) > “Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love's opposite” [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love becomes painful when it turns into ownership, the opposite of love. **In simple terms:** Ownership hurts love; love should be free. Key Takeaway Practice love without possessiveness. Themes love ownership freedom Mood reflective emotional Type philosophical relationship When to use this quote - marriage counseling - friendship - family dynamics Key Concepts relationships psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to love without owning? - How can we recognize ownership in relationships? A Different Perspective Possessive love can be mistaken for care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Ownership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ownership/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is loves opposite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/love-does-not-cause-suffering-what-causes-it-is-the-sense-of-2/) [Antoine De Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Confuse not love with the raptures of possession, which bring the cruellest of sufferings. For, notwithstanding the general opinion, love does not cause suffering:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/confuse-not-love-with-the-raptures-of-possession-which-bring-the/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Love is ownership. We own whom we love. The universe is God's because He loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/love-is-ownership-we-own-whom-we-love-the-universe-is-god-s-because/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Action arising out of suffering is contaminated with suffering and causes further suffering, and that is karma. Action that arises out of a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/action-arising-out-of-suffering-is-contaminated-with-suffering-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“To love without ownership, to love with total trust and faith in that very love, to love with the same faith you have that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julieanne-o-connor/to-love-without-ownership-to-love-with-total-trust-and-faith-in-that/) [Julieanne O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julieanne-o-connor/) > [“In humanism, murder is bad not because of a commandment against it, but because of the terrible suffering it causes the victim’s loved ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gbf-summary/in-humanism-murder-is-bad-not-because-of-a-commandment-against-it-but/) GBF Summary > [Love isn't ownership. Love is partnership. It takes time,effort,and pain to be inlove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-isn-t-ownership-love-is-partnership-it-takes-time-effort-and-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love isn't ownership. Love is partnership. It takes time, effort, and pain to be in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-isn-t-ownership-love-is-partnership-it-takes-time-effort-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To hell with the way the modern world thinks, she won’t even try to pretend that he doesn't own her. Every touch, every move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-anne-stewart/to-hell-with-the-way-the-modern-world-thinks-she-won-t-even-try-to/) [Karen-Anne Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-anne-stewart/) > [“By the time you experience pain and suffering,g the causes have been with you for some time. That's because energy enters through our spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-carrigan/by-the-time-you-experience-pain-and-suffering-g-the-causes-have-been/) [Catherine Carrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-carrigan/) > [There is no such thing, as far as I'm concerned, as ownership in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/there-is-no-such-thing-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-as-ownership-in-love/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [It is ignorance that smothers, and it is carelessness that makes it invisible. The hunger of craving pollutes the world, and the pain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/it-is-ignorance-that-smothers-and-it-is-carelessness-that-makes-it/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [To my mind, there are two things that, in life, you can do about death. Either you can choose to ignore it, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/to-my-mind-there-are-two-things-that-in-life-you-can-do-about-death/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“I don't know what I'm saying, really, but I guess it's like having a kid, though I don't have any kids. It's yours, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-wilson/i-don-t-know-what-i-m-saying-really-but-i-guess-it-s-like-having-a/) [Kevin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-wilson/) > [“Ownership, even in love, is an illusion. No woman owned any man and no man owned any woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/ownership-even-in-love-is-an-illusion-no-woman-owned-any-man-and-no/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) ## More by Antoine de Saint-Exupery > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. 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