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Love is not an equation, it is not a contract, and it is not a happy ending. Love is the slate under the chalk, the ground that buildings rise, and the oxygen in the air. It is the place you come back to, no matter where your headed
Jodi Picoult
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Love is a fundamental and enduring essence that supports and nurtures relationships.

In this quote, Jodi Picoult emphasizes that love transcends simplistic definitions like equations or contracts. Rather, it is portrayed as the foundational element of our lives, akin to the unchangeable surface beneath chalk or the air we breathe, suggesting that love is always present and a constant to return to, regardless of life’s journey.

Themes

LoveRelationshipsFoundationEnduringSupport

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be shared in a wedding speech to emphasize the depth of love between partners.

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Normal, in our house, is like a blanket too short for a bed--sometimes it covers you just fine, and other times it leaves you cold and shaking; and worst of all, you never know which of the two it's going to be.
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she told me she'd be a phoenix." The image of the mythical creature rising from the ashes glitters in my mind. "They don't really exist." "She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them.
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for 100,000 (dollars), you [can] flatten a house with a wrecking ball. Imagine how much less it [takes] to destroy something than it [does] to build it in the first place.
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But if you seek forgiveness, doesn't that automatically mean you cannot be a monster? By definition, doesn't that desperation make you human again?
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when you [lose someone], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all nerves are still a little raw
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