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In the slaughterhouse of love, they kill only the best, none of the weak or deformed. Don't run away from this dying. Whoever's not killed for love is dead meat.
Rumi
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Interpretation

What this quote means

True love often involves pain and sacrifice, and only the strongest emotions can survive it.

Rumi's quote speaks to the intensity and challenges of love, suggesting that real love demands a fierce vulnerability and strength. It implies that love can be a transformative experience, where only those who endure the struggles and trials of deep affection and connection are truly alive and enriched by it. In the metaphorical 'slaughterhouse,' the weak cannot survive the profound impact of love, and those who shy away from the intensity of emotional experiences are left untouched and unfulfilled.

Themes

LoveSacrificeStrengthVulnerabilityEmotion

In practice

Example use cases

During a wedding toast when discussing the challenges and joys of marriage.

More from Rumi

My dear heart, never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace, don't harbor bad thoughts, do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know.
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Every fragile beauty, every perfect forgotten sentence, you grieve their going away, but that is not how it is. Where they come from never goes dry. It is an always flowing spring.
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Come on sweetheart let's adore one another before there is no more of you and me
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