---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...perhaps it is loving that counts, not…"
description: "\"“...perhaps it is loving that counts, not the being loved in return- that perhaps true loving can never know anything but happiness.”\" — Dodie Smith"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/dodie-smith-1724_happiness_perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the_2066209.png"
---

#  ...perhaps it is loving that counts, not the being loved…

![“...perhaps it is loving that counts, not the being loved in return- that perhaps true loving can never know anything but happiness.” quote by Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/dodie-smith-1724_happiness_perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the_2066209.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/dodie-smith-1724_happiness_perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the_2066209.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/dodie-smith-1724_happiness_perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the_2066209.png)

> ““...perhaps it is loving that counts, not the being loved in return- that perhaps true loving can never know anything but happiness.””

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

## About This Quote

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

Love’s value lies in giving, not receiving; true love brings happiness regardless of reciprocity.

**In simple terms:** Love is about giving, not getting.

Key Takeaway

Give love, receive joy.

Themes

love selflessness happiness

Mood

warm reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- relationships
- parenting
- friendship
- volunteering

Key Concepts

reciprocity unconditional love

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you love without expectation?
- What does happiness look like when you give love?

A Different Perspective

Love may be unreciprocated, causing pain.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Know Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-happiness-323463/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving/) [Loving Counts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-counts-3966067/) [Loving Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-know-1858058/) [True Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-loving-2899799/)

## Related quotes

> [“The thought came to me that perhaps it is the loving that counts, not the being loved in return - that perhaps true loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-came-to-me-that-perhaps-it-is-the-loving-that-counts-not/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Just to be in love seemed the most blissful luxury I had ever known. The thought came to me that perhaps it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/just-to-be-in-love-seemed-the-most-blissful-luxury-i-had-ever-known-2/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“You’re sure it was Loving?” “Yes. That’s exactly the kind of strategy he’d choose. There’s no doubt it was him.” I was aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/you-re-sure-it-was-loving-yes-that-s-exactly-the-kind-of-strategy-he/)

[Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/)

> [Loving you again I know it's already over, already over now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red/loving-you-again-i-know-it-s-already-over-already-over-now/)

[Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red/)

> [ “\[children\]can thus learn the art of loving and know truly that when they think a thought they release a tremendous power or force in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tompkins/children-can-thus-learn-the-art-of-loving-and-know-truly-that-when/)

[Peter Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tompkins/)

> [If loving you is the end of my world I will never stop loving you because you know you are my world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-phitz/if-loving-you-is-the-end-of-my-world-i-will-never-stop-loving-you/)

[Mr Phitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-phitz/)

> [“Sexy means loving someone you do not know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/sexy-means-loving-someone-you-do-not-know/)

[Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/)

> [Pretty girls come a dime a dozen, try to find one who's gonna give you true loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smokey-robinson/pretty-girls-come-a-dime-a-dozen-try-to-find-one-who-s-gonna-give-you/)

[Smokey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smokey-robinson/)

> [Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/blessed-is-the-influence-of-one-true-loving-human-soul-on-another-2/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Giving is true loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/giving-is-true-loving/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [Loving someone is not how much you know about that person ..but because only our heart knows..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariane-corbito/loving-someone-is-not-how-much-you-know-about-that-person-but-because/)

[Mariane Corbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariane-corbito/)

> [The sad part of loving someone is when you know you both like each other in a special way but you cant be together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-lobedica/the-sad-part-of-loving-someone-is-when-you-know-you-both-like-each/)

[Joanne Lobedica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-lobedica/)

> [How do you stop yourself from loving someone when you know it will never work out?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-do-you-stop-yourself-from-loving-someone-when-you-know-it-will/)

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

> [When Love Is Unknown For You, You Know What Is Happiness, When You Know Love... You Know What Is Pain, When You Lose It,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/when-love-is-unknown-for-you-you-know-what-is-happiness-when-you-know/)

[Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/)

> [Those who are the most happy appear to know it the least; happiness is something that for the most part seems to mainly consist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/those-who-are-the-most-happy-appear-to-know-it-the-least-happiness-is/)

[Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/)

## More by Dodie Smith

> [“I glanced through another page in case I had missed something, and came to the description of Simon's face as he lay on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-glanced-through-another-page-in-case-i-had-missed-something-and/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“Now, paper and pencils," said Miss Marcy, clapping her hands. Writing paper is scarce in this house, and I had no intention of tearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/now-paper-and-pencils-said-miss-marcy-clapping-her-hands-writing/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/it-s-odd-how-different-a-house-feels-when-one-is-alone-in-it-it-makes/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [The tea was a comfort - and by that time I more than needed comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-tea-was-a-comfort-and-by-that-time-i-more-than-needed-comfort/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/like-many-other-much-loved-humans-they-believed-that-they-owned-their/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“And I suspect that, to the eyes of love, love shows. I knew about you as well as about myself, almost from the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-i-suspect-that-to-the-eyes-of-love-love-shows-i-knew-about-you-as/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“The thought was horrible, yet fascinating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-was-horrible-yet-fascinating/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“What I'd really hate would be the settled feeling, with nothing but happiness to look forward to. Of course no life is perfectly happy-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/what-i-d-really-hate-would-be-the-settled-feeling-with-nothing-but/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Truthfulness so often goes with ruthlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/truthfulness-so-often-goes-with-ruthlessness/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Am I really admitting that my sister is determined to marry a man she has only seen once and doesn't much like the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/am-i-really-admitting-that-my-sister-is-determined-to-marry-a-man-she/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“There are some people who always find beauty makes them feel sadder, which is a very mysterious thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/there-are-some-people-who-always-find-beauty-makes-them-feel-sadder/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [When things mean a very great deal to you, exciting anticipation just isn't safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/when-things-mean-a-very-great-deal-to-you-exciting-anticipation-just/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [I could marry the Devil himself if he had some money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-could-marry-the-devil-himself-if-he-had-some-money/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

[Explore all 211 Dodie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

## More Happiness quotes

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/)

[Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/)

> [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/)

[MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/)

> [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/)

[Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/)

> [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/)

[Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/)

[Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/)

> [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [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/)

> [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/)

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

> [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/)

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

> [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/)

[Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/)

[Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“...perhaps it is loving that counts, not the being loved in return- that perhaps true loving can never know anything but happiness.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dodie Smith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the-being-loved-in-return-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Happiness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the-being-loved-in-return-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/dodie-smith-1724_happiness_perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the_2066209.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/dodie-smith-1724_happiness_perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the_2066209.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/dodie-smith-1724_happiness_perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the_2066209.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“...perhaps it is loving that counts, not the being loved in return- that perhaps true loving can never know…” — Dodie Smith",
                "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": "Dodie Smith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“...perhaps it is loving that counts,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the-being-loved-in-return-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/perhaps-it-is-loving-that-counts-not-the-being-loved-in-return-that/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
