You are 27 or 28 right? It is very tough to live at that age. When nothing is sure. I have sympathy with you.
No mistake about it. Ice is cold; roses are red; I'm in love. And this love is about to carry me off somewhere. The current's too overpowering; I don't have any choice. It may very well be a special place, some place I've never seen before. Danger may be lurking there, something that may end up wounding me deeply, fatally. I might end up losing everything. But there's no turning back. I can only go with the flow. Even if it means I'll be burned up, gone forever.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the profound and uncontrollable nature of love, highlighting its beauty and potential dangers.
In this quote, Haruki Murakami articulates the overwhelming and irresistible power of love, comparing it to the coldness of ice and the vibrant red of roses. He acknowledges that love can lead you to unknown places, filled with both joy and peril, embodying the idea that while love is a beautiful experience, it also comes with the risk of pain and loss. Ultimately, he conveys the inevitability of following this passionate current, even if it leads to uncertain or disastrous outcomes.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a wedding speech expressing the beauty and unpredictability of love.
More from Haruki Murakami
All quotes →They take the circuits out of people’s brains that make it possible for them to think for themselves. Their world is like the one that George Orwell depicted in his novel. I’m sure you realize that there are plenty of people who are looking for exactly that kind of brain death. It makes life a lot easier. You don’t have to think about difficult things, just shut up and do what your superiors tell you to do.
Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade.
I think you still love me, but we can’t escape the fact that I’m not enough for you. I knew this was going to happen. So I’m not blaming you for falling in love with another woman. I’m not angry, either. I should be, but I’m not. I just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong.
Everybody burns out in this world; amateur, pro, it doesn't matter, they all burn out, they all get hurt, the OK guys and the not-OK guys both. That's why everybody takes out a little insurance. I've got some too, here at the bottom of the heap. That way, you manage to survive if you burn out. If you're all by yourself and don't belong anywhere, you go down once, and you're out. Finished.
Life is so uncertain: you never know what could happen. One way to deal with that is to keep your pajamas washed.
Similar quotes
Your life has purpose as long as you dedicate it to love. It's not what we do but who we are that forms our biggest contribution.
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
All work is empty save when there is love.
Young love needs dangers and barriers to nourish it.
O love, O fire! once he drew With one long kiss my whole soul through My lips, as sunlight drinketh dew.
Love yourself-accept yourself-forgive yourself-and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.