--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is it possible to love by simply not…" description: "\"“Is it possible to love by simply not being an ass? I don't think so. But it goes a long way to clearing a space where love can happen.”\" — Peter Heller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/peter-heller-3324_long-way_is-it-possible-to-love-by-simply-not-bei_2619205.png" --- # Is it possible to love by simply not being an ass? I don't… ![“Is it possible to love by simply not being an ass? I don't think so. But it goes a long way to clearing a space where love can happen.” quote by Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/peter-heller-3324_long-way_is-it-possible-to-love-by-simply-not-bei_2619205.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/peter-heller-3324_long-way_is-it-possible-to-love-by-simply-not-bei_2619205.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/peter-heller-3324_long-way_is-it-possible-to-love-by-simply-not-bei_2619205.png) > ““Is it possible to love by simply not being an ass? I don't think so. But it goes a long way to clearing a space where love can happen.”” [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love requires humility and kindness; without them, genuine connection is unlikely. **In simple terms:** Love needs kindness, not just absence of rudeness. Key Takeaway Practice empathy daily. Themes relationships kindness love communication self‑growth Mood reflective hopeful Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - dating - friendship - family interactions Key Concepts emotional intelligence interpersonal dynamics ethical behavior Questions to Reflect On - What small acts of kindness can you offer today? - How does humility affect love? A Different Perspective Kindness alone may not resolve deeper incompatibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Space Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-love/) ## Related quotes > [Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/love-is-simply-the-name-for-the-desire-and-the-pursuit-of-the-whole/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Love is the only cause of happiness. Its nature is all-pervasive like space. Love is the sunlight of the mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garchen-rinpoche/love-is-the-only-cause-of-happiness-its-nature-is-all-pervasive-like/) [Garchen Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garchen-rinpoche/) > [The highest prize we can receive for creative work is the joy of being creative. Creative effort spent for any other reason than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-highest-prize-we-can-receive-for-creative-work-is-the-joy-of/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Poetry is a big space and I love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/poetry-is-a-big-space-and-i-love-it/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [“we are vulnerable up in the sky lookin' down the earth reaching out the space we are in love”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azlan/we-are-vulnerable-up-in-the-sky-lookin-down-the-earth-reaching-out/) [Azlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azlan/) > [Anyone who has spent any time in space will love it for the rest of their lives. I achieved my childhood dream of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentina-tereshkova/anyone-who-has-spent-any-time-in-space-will-love-it-for-the-rest-of/) [Valentina Tereshkova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valentina-tereshkova/) > [Seriously, I would go in a second. I'd be the first actor in space and I'd love to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cruise/seriously-i-would-go-in-a-second-i-d-be-the-first-actor-in-space-and/) [Tom Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cruise/) > [The world measures moments in the measures of time, But with you, oh my dear, they all seem sublime. As for me you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curly-girl/the-world-measures-moments-in-the-measures-of-time-but-with-you-oh-my/) Curly Girl > [“Sometimes you love people you shouldn’t, and in the endless space of that love, nothing else matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-godwin/sometimes-you-love-people-you-shouldn-t-and-in-the-endless-space-of/) [Pam Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-godwin/) > [I need my space. I love being alone, doing me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-need-my-space-i-love-being-alone-doing-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And where there is no Echo there is no description of space or love. There is only silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/and-where-there-is-no-echo-there-is-no-description-of-space-or-love/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [Dont give up on those you love. Give them time, give them space, give them love, but dont give them up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-give-up-on-those-you-love-give-them-time-give-them-space-give/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is special Love is kind Love will stop all things and time Love is beauty and the beast Love is all things good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-dawn-monks/love-is-special-love-is-kind-love-will-stop-all-things-and-time-love/) [Victoria Dawn Monks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-dawn-monks/) > [If you create any open space within yourself, love will fill it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-you-create-any-open-space-within-yourself-love-will-fill-it/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our pain carves out a larger space for love to fill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/our-pain-carves-out-a-larger-space-for-love-to-fill/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More by Peter Heller > [“It occurred to me that the death of his grazing land hurt him more, incomparably more than the death of the human race. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-occurred-to-me-that-the-death-of-his-grazing-land-hurt-him-more/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Kook means the clueless beginner who paddles his surf board out to the other surfers in the lineup and starts chattering away like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/kook-means-the-clueless-beginner-who-paddles-his-surf-board-out-to/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“We have traveled. Now you will be the path I will walk I will walk Over you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-have-traveled-now-you-will-be-the-path-i-will-walk-i-will-walk/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“Well, I think that’s sort of like Eve biting the apple. You were talking about Genesis. 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Like my heart swelled and my skin got thinner and thinner in the heat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-pleasure-almost-split-me-like-a-baking-stuffed-tomato-like-my/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Wanted to write fiction since I was 11, since I first read 'In Our Time' by Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/wanted-to-write-fiction-since-i-was-11-since-i-first-read-in-our-time/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“She collapsed. I stepped forward and caught her. I thought of two trees nearly unrooted and leaning against each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/she-collapsed-i-stepped-forward-and-caught-her-i-thought-of-two-trees/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [All my journalism, all my books are first person, and it's all memoir. Even when I'm writing about the oil spill in the Gulf,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/all-my-journalism-all-my-books-are-first-person-and-it-s-all-memoir/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“we can proceed in our lives just as easily from love to love as from loss to loss. A good thing to remember in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-can-proceed-in-our-lives-just-as-easily-from-love-to-love-as-from/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“It's early spring, some late or early hour with Orion toppling backward onto the serrated edge of the mountains and not crying out but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-s-early-spring-some-late-or-early-hour-with-orion-toppling/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“I once had a book on the stars but now I don't. My memory serves but not stellar, ha. So I made up constellations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-once-had-a-book-on-the-stars-but-now-i-don-t-my-memory-serves-but/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Species are going extinct because of habitat loss and warming. I feel deeply responsible and think about it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/species-are-going-extinct-because-of-habitat-loss-and-warming-i-feel/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“I think there should be tribunals for social cruelty as there are for physical assault. Calculated cuts in the first degree. Snobicide or its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-think-there-should-be-tribunals-for-social-cruelty-as-there-are-for/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) [Explore all 130 Peter Heller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) ## More Long way quotes > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“A little bit of kindness goes a long way with women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/a-little-bit-of-kindness-goes-a-long-way-with-women/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Max—you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. I held my wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/max-you-have-a-bigger-mission-than-finding-the-flock-s-parents-focus/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Scents as well as clothes and hairstyles can go a long way in revealing a part of yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/scents-as-well-as-clothes-and-hairstyles-can-go-a-long-way-in/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [But I would say if the Security Council is only relevant if it agrees with the United States, then we have come a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/but-i-would-say-if-the-security-council-is-only-relevant-if-it-agrees/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [“The difference between America and England is that Americans think 100 years is a long time, while the English think 100 miles is a long way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earle-hitchner/the-difference-between-america-and-england-is-that-americans-think/) Earle Hitchner > [The weird thing about metal fans is we're all so maladjusted in a lot of ways. We're individualistic and opinionated and severe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/the-weird-thing-about-metal-fans-is-we-re-all-so-maladjusted-in-a-lot/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [The Guida KO showed that my striking has come a long way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/the-guida-ko-showed-that-my-striking-has-come-a-long-way/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [I'm always trying to remember that kindness goes a long, long way. I think that's something that people will definitely take out of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stuhlbarg/i-m-always-trying-to-remember-that-kindness-goes-a-long-long-way-i/) [Michael Stuhlbarg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stuhlbarg/) > [We have come a long way in terms of foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-raffarin/we-have-come-a-long-way-in-terms-of-foreign-policy/) [Jean-Pierre Raffarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-raffarin/) > [Michaels is probably the most respected craft retailer on the planet so to be working with them is a fantastic honour, and it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-davies/michaels-is-probably-the-most-respected-craft-retailer-on-the-planet/) [Sara Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-davies/) > [“Where I had expected to appreciate the monuments and love the natural environment, the reality was entirely the reverse. The immense beauty of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/where-i-had-expected-to-appreciate-the-monuments-and-love-the-natural/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [“All right. You want to know about Nigel. I’ll tell you about Nigel. He’s come a long way since that so-called accident, Jon. Heck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-corey/all-right-you-want-to-know-about-nigel-i-ll-tell-you-about-nigel-he-s/) Shawn Corey > [“As the head of an expedition, you can't pussyfoot around being polite to everyone. You have to show your teeth once in a while;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/as-the-head-of-an-expedition-you-can-t-pussyfoot-around-being-polite/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) Browse all 1,244 Long way quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Is it possible to love by simply not being an ass? I don't think so. 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