--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love isn't an emotion or an instinct…" description: "\"Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art.\" — Mae West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/mae-west-1200_art_love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it_2670319.jpg" --- # Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art. ![“Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art.” quote by Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/mae-west-1200_art_love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it_2670319.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/mae-west-1200_art_love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it_2670319.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/mae-west-1200_art_love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it_2670319.jpg) > “Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art.” [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) ## 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 a crafted skill rather than a mere feeling, requiring practice and creativity. **In simple terms:** Love is an art form. Key Takeaway Learn and practice love. Themes relationships creativity skill Mood playful confident Type romantic philosophical When to use this quote - dating - long‑term partnership Key Concepts emotional intelligence artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to practice love? - How can one improve love skills? A Different Perspective Love cannot be forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotion Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-instinct-2497305/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Instinct Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct-art-2497306/) [Isn Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isn-emotion-2497307/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-does/) [Love Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-isn/) ## Related quotes > [Though we may be genetically wired for temporary happiness, we've also been gifted with the ability to recognize within ourselves a more profound and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/though-we-may-be-genetically-wired-for-temporary-happiness-we-ve-also/) [Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/) > [Conflict is the alchemical soup that transforms raw emotion and instinct into pure gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harville-hendrix/conflict-is-the-alchemical-soup-that-transforms-raw-emotion-and/) [Harville Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harville-hendrix/) > [“Love isn't just an emotion, it's a responsibility”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-huggins/love-isn-t-just-an-emotion-it-s-a-responsibility/) [Michael S. Huggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-huggins/) > [Love isn't just a feeling without emotion, love is all emotions put into a feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-bean/love-isn-t-just-a-feeling-without-emotion-love-is-all-emotions-put/) [Tamara Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-bean/) > [Engage your emotions at work. Your instincts and emotions are there to help you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/engage-your-emotions-at-work-your-instincts-and-emotions-are-there-to/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [There was no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals would never be converted and would anyway always yield to the stronger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/there-was-no-point-in-seeking-to-convert-the-intellectuals-for/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [“Love isn’t a series of slogans like “Just do it,” “It’s the real thing,” or “Go ahead, stick it in my butt.” Love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/love-isn-t-a-series-of-slogans-like-just-do-it-it-s-the-real-thing-or/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Love isn't a perfect state of caring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/love-isn-t-a-perfect-state-of-caring/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [Love isn't about possession or being materialistic. I think it's about just having someone around that cares about you and you care about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-isn-t-about-possession-or-being-materialistic-i-think-it-s-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“... however good it is, some love isn't meant to be for ever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/however-good-it-is-some-love-isn-t-meant-to-be-for-ever/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [“Lisa, love is magical,” Rema said. “Scientists give such simplified explanations for it, and they’re wrong, because love isn’t something that happens in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-snyman/lisa-love-is-magical-rema-said-scientists-give-such-simplified/) [Monique Snyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-snyman/) > [“...Love isn’t a fucking answer. It hurts more than it doesn’t, it’s harder than it is easy, it takes work, guts, and perseverance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-sheehan/love-isn-t-a-fucking-answer-it-hurts-more-than-it-doesn-t-it-s-harder/) [Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-sheehan/) > [“Love isn’t about how much you say ‘I love you’, but about how much you prove it’s true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-swallow/love-isn-t-about-how-much-you-say-i-love-you-but-about-how-much-you/) [Lisa Swallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-swallow/) > [Love isn't intellectual - it's visceral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-mcgillis/love-isn-t-intellectual-it-s-visceral/) [Kelly McGillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-mcgillis/) ## More by Mae West > [Reason was nowhere, time was an immovable object nailed high on the wall, except where the world kept shop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/reason-was-nowhere-time-was-an-immovable-object-nailed-high-on-the/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [I've been in 'Who's Who' and I know what's what, but it'll be the first time I ever made the dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-ve-been-in-who-s-who-and-i-know-what-s-what-but-it-ll-be-the-first/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Look your best - who said love is blind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/look-your-best-who-said-love-is-blind/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Don't let a man put anything over on you except an umbrella.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/don-t-let-a-man-put-anything-over-on-you-except-an-umbrella/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [In my long and colorful career, one thing stands out: I have been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/in-my-long-and-colorful-career-one-thing-stands-out-i-have-been/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [The finest woman that ever walked the streets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/the-finest-woman-that-ever-walked-the-streets/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [The best way to hold a man is in your arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/the-best-way-to-hold-a-man-is-in-your-arms/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Live close, visit often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/live-close-visit-often/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [A real farmer. He spent his childhood in the wheat, and his marriage in the hay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/a-real-farmer-he-spent-his-childhood-in-the-wheat-and-his-marriage-in/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Marriage? I ain't got time for a husband or child. All my life I've looked after myself as if I was my own child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/marriage-i-ain-t-got-time-for-a-husband-or-child-all-my-life-i-ve/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [“If I can't a man with a million dollars, I'll a million men with one dollar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/if-i-can-t-a-man-with-a-million-dollars-i-ll-a-million-men-with-one/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Sometimes I don't drink so the next day I can remember having fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/sometimes-i-don-t-drink-so-the-next-day-i-can-remember-having-fun/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Positive thoughts generate positive feelings and attract positive life experiences. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/positive-thoughts-generate-positive-feelings-and-attract-positive/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [I believe in the single standard -- for men and women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-believe-in-the-single-standard-for-men-and-women/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [“Goodness had nothing to do with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/goodness-had-nothing-to-do-with-it/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) [Explore all 271 Mae West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mae West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it-s-an-art/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it-s-an-art/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/mae-west-1200_art_love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it_2670319.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/mae-west-1200_art_love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it_2670319.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/mae-west-1200_art_love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it_2670319.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art.” — Mae West", "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": "Mae West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Love isn't an emotion or an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it-s-an-art/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/love-isn-t-an-emotion-or-an-instinct-it-s-an-art/#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 } } ] } ```