--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing about love is that we can't…" description: "\"The thing about love is that we can't control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it. And each feels as good as the other. Your heart..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a0/lisa-scottoline-7100_book_the-thing-about-love-is-that-we-can-t-co_2851174.jpg" --- # The thing about love is that we can't control whether we… ![“The thing about love is that we can't control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it. And each feels as good as the other. Your heart doesn't know if it's loving a man, a book, or a puppy. If your heart were that smart, it would be your brain.” quote by Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a0/lisa-scottoline-7100_book_the-thing-about-love-is-that-we-can-t-co_2851174.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a0/lisa-scottoline-7100_book_the-thing-about-love-is-that-we-can-t-co_2851174.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a0/lisa-scottoline-7100_book_the-thing-about-love-is-that-we-can-t-co_2851174.jpg) > “The thing about love is that we can't control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it. And each feels as good as the other. Your heart doesn't know if it's loving a man, a book, or a puppy. If your heart were that smart, it would be your brain.” [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is uncontrollable in its receipt but controllable in its giving, transcending object type. **In simple terms:** Give love freely regardless of source. Key Takeaway Choose to give love openly. Themes love control empathy Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - family dynamics - pet ownership - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology human relationships Questions to Reflect On - What does love mean to you? - How can you practice unconditional love? A Different Perspective Giving love without expectation can lead to disappointment if unreciprocated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-smart-1554114/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-control-741602/) [Love Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-does-231468/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Puppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppy/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Thing Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-love-273254/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [Because the thing about love is that we can't control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/because-the-thing-about-love-is-that-we-can-t-control-whether-we-get/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [It doesn't matter what size you are. It matters how big your heart is and how smart you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddy-adu/it-doesn-t-matter-what-size-you-are-it-matters-how-big-your-heart-is/) [Freddy Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddy-adu/) > [“Who ever said the heart was smart or that it followed directions?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-scott/who-ever-said-the-heart-was-smart-or-that-it-followed-directions/) [Kylie Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-scott/) > [“If you want to heal a broken heart, Be smart! That's all an ancient art. Start by loving the very small parts That were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-claudia-antunes/if-you-want-to-heal-a-broken-heart-be-smart-that-s-all-an-ancient-art/) [Ana Claudia Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-claudia-antunes/) > [The good thing about love is nobody can stop you from loving them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-simmons/the-good-thing-about-love-is-nobody-can-stop-you-from-loving-them/) [Joseph Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-simmons/) > [You cant force love. You cant control how someone else feels. You just have to enjoy it while it lasts and hope the ride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cant-force-love-you-cant-control-how-someone-else-feels-you-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love to be in control of everything I do and everything around me. So that means, you give me a romantic lyric and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-pendergrass/i-love-to-be-in-control-of-everything-i-do-and-everything-around-me/) [Teddy Pendergrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-pendergrass/) > [Love is something we cant control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-u/love-is-something-we-cant-control/) [J U](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-u/) > [I give you my body, soul, feelings, emotions, heart, love. I give my everything to you. Except my control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-give-you-my-body-soul-feelings-emotions-heart-love-i-give-my/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [“Was this why it was called falling in love—because you had no control over it? “Here,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-mae-hill/was-this-why-it-was-called-falling-in-love-because-you-had-no-control/) [Lena Mae Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-mae-hill/) > [“Do not try to understand love, control it or hold it. Although love is humble, it is strong and suffers all, And if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-b-brewer/do-not-try-to-understand-love-control-it-or-hold-it-although-love-is/) [Nancy B. Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-b-brewer/) > [You can't control who you love, but you should never let who you love control you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-t-control-who-you-love-but-you-should-never-let-who-you-love/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“Where there is control, there can't be love, where there is love, there can't be control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/where-there-is-control-there-can-t-be-love-where-there-is-love-there/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“It's not that you should never love something so much it can control you. It's that you need to love something that much so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-that-you-should-never-love-something-so-much-it-can-control/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you love someone, DON'T cage them in with your insecurities, because After all, that's NOT love, that's CONTROL, and neither one are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-you-love-someone-don-t-cage-them-in-with-your-insecurities-because/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) ## More by Lisa Scottoline > [“Night came early to this neighborhood, the sun fleeing the sky, leaving heaven black and blue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/night-came-early-to-this-neighborhood-the-sun-fleeing-the-sky-leaving/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [I love everything about Philadelphia, and its food is like the city itself: real-deal, hearty, and without pretension. We've always had an underdog vibe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-love-everything-about-philadelphia-and-its-food-is-like-the-city/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [everything associated with weddings cost the same - a fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/everything-associated-with-weddings-cost-the-same-a-fortune/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [I love my job, and I love books. I read anything, including cereal boxes. I care deeply about what people think of my books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-love-my-job-and-i-love-books-i-read-anything-including-cereal-boxes/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“Great griefs are mute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/great-griefs-are-mute/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“Justice didn’t compensate for the loss of human life. Justice was an intellectual concept, inevitably trumped by emotion. Justice was the word we used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/justice-didn-t-compensate-for-the-loss-of-human-life-justice-was-an/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“I know that people get angry and I'm generally a fan of emotions. And to be real, it makes great television. A debate where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-know-that-people-get-angry-and-i-m-generally-a-fan-of-emotions-and/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“Custom curtains made with a lovely Schumacher fabric that she’d used for the headboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/custom-curtains-made-with-a-lovely-schumacher-fabric-that-she-d-used/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“you very much, and now I’ll take”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/you-very-much-and-now-i-ll-take/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [Because the thing about love is that we can't control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/because-the-thing-about-love-is-that-we-can-t-control-whether-we-get/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [I like terrific writing, but I also like a terrific story. My favorite books have both, and they're by contemporary, commercial American writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-like-terrific-writing-but-i-also-like-a-terrific-story-my-favorite/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [If it weren't for book tours, I would never leave my house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/if-it-weren-t-for-book-tours-i-would-never-leave-my-house/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [You don't have to be dead to write a classic, and you don't have to be literary to be smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/you-don-t-have-to-be-dead-to-write-a-classic-and-you-don-t-have-to-be/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“Writing had always helped her, before. It always clarified her feelings and her thoughts, and she never felt like she could understand something fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/writing-had-always-helped-her-before-it-always-clarified-her-feelings/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“Everyone liked a clean-cut guy, and they tended to forget that appearances were deceiving. His”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/everyone-liked-a-clean-cut-guy-and-they-tended-to-forget-that/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) [Explore all 94 Lisa Scottoline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing about love is that we can't control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it. 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