--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is not possessive. It does not claim…" description: "\"“Love is not possessive. It does not claim ownership of another's heart. Love is a liberator; so that another's heart is set free to love back.”\" — Ste..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/stephen-mcdonough-57073_free-love_love-is-not-possessive-it-does-not-claim_2841010.jpg" --- # Love is not possessive. It does not claim ownership of… ![“Love is not possessive. It does not claim ownership of another's heart. Love is a liberator; so that another's heart is set free to love back.” quote by Stephen McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/stephen-mcdonough-57073_free-love_love-is-not-possessive-it-does-not-claim_2841010.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/stephen-mcdonough-57073_free-love_love-is-not-possessive-it-does-not-claim_2841010.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/stephen-mcdonough-57073_free-love_love-is-not-possessive-it-does-not-claim_2841010.jpg) > ““Love is not possessive. It does not claim ownership of another's heart. Love is a liberator; so that another's heart is set free to love back.”” [Stephen McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mcdonough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love should be free, not possessive, allowing each heart to love and be loved without ownership. **In simple terms:** Love is liberating, not owning. Key Takeaway Practice non‑possessive love. Themes love freedom relationships Mood hopeful thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - dating - marriage - friendship - personal growth Key Concepts attachment theory emotional health Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance love and independence? - What fears arise with non‑possessive love? A Different Perspective May be idealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-love/) [Heart love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Possessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-possessive-1231777/) [Ownership Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ownership-heart-3724810/) [Possessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possessive/) [Set free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/set-free/) ## Related quotes > [So much of our conversation about love is possessive. "You are mine. And if you stop being mine, I will hate you." And so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/so-much-of-our-conversation-about-love-is-possessive-you-are-mine-and/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Can't you fall in love and not have a possessive relationship? I love someone and she loves me and we get married - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/can-t-you-fall-in-love-and-not-have-a-possessive-relationship-i-love-2/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I've learned that love is not possessive and I've learned that love won't wait. Now I've learned that love needs expression, but I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-ve-learned-that-love-is-not-possessive-and-i-ve-learned-that-love/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [“First they will love you, then they will be possessive, then they will feel insecured, and finally they will hate you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/first-they-will-love-you-then-they-will-be-possessive-then-they-will/) [P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [“And, i love that you're possessive. 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Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [“You are set free whenever you love—even those who believe you're crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jef-murray/you-are-set-free-whenever-you-love-even-those-who-believe-you-re-crazy/) [Jef Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jef-murray/) > [“This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience - it looks for a way of being constructive. Love is not possessive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/this-love-of-which-i-speak-is-slow-to-lose-patience-it-looks-for-a/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“Can’t you fall in love and not have a possessive relationship? I love someone and she loves me and we get married – that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/can-t-you-fall-in-love-and-not-have-a-possessive-relationship-i-love/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [The best things in life are free. Sunsets and sunrises are free. Air is free. Love is free. Death is free. The best things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-best-things-in-life-are-free-sunsets-and-sunrises-are-free-air-is/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Free love may try to dissolve, and the concubinate to desecrate, the holiest tie, as it pleases; but, for the vast majority of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/free-love-may-try-to-dissolve-and-the-concubinate-to-desecrate-the/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [This was freedom; to feel what the heart desired with no thought to the opinion of the rest... She was free, for love liberates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/this-was-freedom-to-feel-what-the-heart-desired-with-no-thought-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Stephen McDonough > [“A poet expresses with a few words, what a philosopher means with many.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mcdonough/a-poet-expresses-with-a-few-words-what-a-philosopher-means-with-many/) [Stephen McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mcdonough/) > [“Feelings need not be shown to be felt. Words need not be spoken to understand. 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Every man is free, even in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/in-love-the-feeling-of-owning-your-partner-seems-natural-but-it-is/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [“I don't have a love life. I have a like life.' Mamie smiled. She thought how nice that might be, to be peacefully free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-don-t-have-a-love-life-i-have-a-like-life-mamie-smiled-she-thought/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“It is luck to love someone who is free to love you in return.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/it-is-luck-to-love-someone-who-is-free-to-love-you-in-return/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [Holding on to love is not wrong, but you need to learn to hold it lightly, caressingly. Let it fly when it wants. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/holding-on-to-love-is-not-wrong-but-you-need-to-learn-to-hold-it/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [The Democratic position seems to be everything is going to be free. Free education. Free health care. Free housing. Free love. Free kittens, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy/the-democratic-position-seems-to-be-everything-is-going-to-be-free/) [John Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy/) > [“The more we are concerned with what God thinks of us, the less we will be worried about what others think of us. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-d-boa/the-more-we-are-concerned-with-what-god-thinks-of-us-the-less-we-will/) [Kenneth D. Boa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-d-boa/) > [When you're ready for expensive love, you're ready for free love. But if you're only ready for cheap love, you're not ready for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-truman/when-you-re-ready-for-expensive-love-you-re-ready-for-free-love-but/) [David Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-truman/) > [Humble spirits are free to love and to be who they are. They have no artificial standards to live up to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/humble-spirits-are-free-to-love-and-to-be-who-they-are-they-have-no/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [They say love can set you free. but not if the one you love doesn't love you back..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/they-say-love-can-set-you-free-but-not-if-the-one-you-love-doesn-t/) [Author Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-name/) > [“Life is not a competition. No one has to lose for someone else to win. A true blessing blesses everyone. A fragmented love which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/life-is-not-a-competition-no-one-has-to-lose-for-someone-else-to-win/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [Everyone asks for freedom for himself, The man free love, the businessman free trade, The writer and talker free speech and free press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/everyone-asks-for-freedom-for-himself-the-man-free-love-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) [Browse all 173 Free love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Love is not possessive. It does not claim ownership of another's heart. 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