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Difficult task Quote by Rainer Maria Rilke

“It is also good to love: because love is difficult. For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation… Loving does not at first…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke
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““It is also good to love: because love is difficult. For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation… Loving does not at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person (for what would a union be of two people who are unclarified, unfinished, and still incoherent?), it is a high inducement for the individual to ripen, to become something in himself, to become world, to become world in himself for the sake of another person; it is a great, demanding claim on him, something that chooses him and calls him to vast distances... Merging and surrendering and every kind of communion is not for them (who must still, for a long, long time, save and gather themselves); it is the ultimate, is perhaps that for which human lives are as yet barely large enough.””

Rainer Maria Rilke

About This Quote

Source Poem: “The Book of Hours”, 1905

Love is a demanding, transformative task that requires personal growth, not just merging with another; it prepares us for deeper communion.

In simple terms: Love is hard but enriching.

Key Takeaway

Embrace love’s challenges for growth.

Themes

love spiritual growth self‑development

Mood

reflective introspective

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

  • marriage
  • friendship
  • spiritual practice

Key Concepts

Transformation self‑actualization

Questions to Reflect On

  • What personal growth does love demand?
  • How can you balance self‑development with partnership?
A Different Perspective

May idealize love without effort.

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