---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The desire to be heard is as deeply…"
description: "\"“The desire to be heard is as deeply seeded as the desire to be loved. For some people, it doesn't matter who's on the other end.”\" — David Levithan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-levithan-67_desire_the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seed_595365.jpg"
---

#  The desire to be heard is as deeply seeded as the desire…

![“The desire to be heard is as deeply seeded as the desire to be loved. For some people, it doesn't matter who's on the other end.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-levithan-67_desire_the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seed_595365.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-levithan-67_desire_the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seed_595365.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-levithan-67_desire_the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seed_595365.jpg)

> ““The desire to be heard is as deeply seeded as the desire to be loved. For some people, it doesn't matter who's on the other end.””

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He notes that the need to be heard is as fundamental as the need to be loved, regardless of the listener.

**In simple terms:** Being heard is a basic human need.

Key Takeaway

Seek both listening and loving.

Themes

communication love validation human connection

Mood

empathetic thoughtful

Type

psychological inspirational

When to use this quote

- Therapy sessions
- personal relationships
- public speaking

Key Concepts

Psychological need social interaction

Questions to Reflect On

- Who truly listens to you?
- How does being heard affect self‑esteem?

A Different Perspective

Listening without empathy can be hollow.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/)

## Related quotes

> [“The running commentary, the loving support, the jokes and the observations and the random thoughts that are made a little less random when they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-running-commentary-the-loving-support-the-jokes-and-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [I had no desire to be a chef, but I had a desire to be someone who was heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-huang/i-had-no-desire-to-be-a-chef-but-i-had-a-desire-to-be-someone-who-was/)

[Eddie Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-huang/)

> [The desire to be heard by someone else is never out of date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ridloff/the-desire-to-be-heard-by-someone-else-is-never-out-of-date/)

[Lauren Ridloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ridloff/)

> [music heard so deeply That it is not heard at all, but you are the music While the music lasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/music-heard-so-deeply-that-it-is-not-heard-at-all-but-you-are-the/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [“For most of us, there is only the unattended Moment, the moment in and out of time, The distraction fit, lost in a shaft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/for-most-of-us-there-is-only-the-unattended-moment-the-moment-in-and/)

[T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/)

> [We suffer from loneliness, often because we desire to be loved, rather than to give love..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-suffer-from-loneliness-often-because-we-desire-to-be-loved-rather/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The desire to be loved, to feel loved, is behind every diet, pill, surgery, and lie. It is behind each act of violence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/the-desire-to-be-loved-to-feel-loved-is-behind-every-diet-pill/)

[Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/)

> [Women must destroy in themselves, the desire to be loved-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mina-loy/women-must-destroy-in-themselves-the-desire-to-be-loved/)

[Mina Loy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mina-loy/)

> [“Desire, it is everywhere you look. The desire to be loved. The desire to be unique. The desire to simply live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-pupo/desire-it-is-everywhere-you-look-the-desire-to-be-loved-the-desire-to/)

Alberto Pupo

> [... I will never love, for I should never be loved as I desire to be loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-bashkirtseff/i-will-never-love-for-i-should-never-be-loved-as-i-desire-to-be-loved/)

[Marie Bashkirtseff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-bashkirtseff/)

> [“You are a dog in the manger, Cathy, and desire no one to be loved but yourself!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/you-are-a-dog-in-the-manger-cathy-and-desire-no-one-to-be-loved-but/)

[Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/)

> [“I’ve never had any desire to be loved. I prefer being feared. It gets the same results but without any hugging.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tawni-o-dell/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-loved-i-prefer-being-feared-it-gets/)

[Tawni O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tawni-o-dell/)

> [The desire to be loved is the last illusion. Give it up and you will be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-desire-to-be-loved-is-the-last-illusion-give-it-up-and-you-will/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [The desire to be loved is really death when it comes to art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/the-desire-to-be-loved-is-really-death-when-it-comes-to-art/)

[David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/)

> [“The desire to love someone always exceeds the desire to be loved by someone &amp; that's exactly why we end up loving the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anirban-bose/the-desire-to-love-someone-always-exceeds-the-desire-to-be-loved-by/)

[Anirban Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anirban-bose/)

## More by David Levithan

> [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

[Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## More Desire quotes

> [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/)

Ted Martinez

> [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/)

[David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/)

> [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/)

[John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/)

> [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/)

[John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/)

[Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/)

> [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/)

[Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

> [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/)

[Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/)

> [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/)

[Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/)

[Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The desire to be heard is as deeply seeded as the desire to be loved. For some people, it doesn't matter who's on the other end.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Levithan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seeded-as-the-desire-to-be-loved/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Desire"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seeded-as-the-desire-to-be-loved/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-levithan-67_desire_the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seed_595365.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-levithan-67_desire_the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seed_595365.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-levithan-67_desire_the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seed_595365.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The desire to be heard is as deeply seeded as the desire to be loved. For some people, it doesn't matter…” — David Levithan",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "David Levithan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The desire to be heard is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seeded-as-the-desire-to-be-loved/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-desire-to-be-heard-is-as-deeply-seeded-as-the-desire-to-be-loved/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
