Quotessence
Home / Books / The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved

The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved

Book by Matthew Kelly · 10 quotes · Intimacy, Love, Relationships

Filter quotes by topic

AllIntimacyLoveRelationshipsCharacterPersonsVirtueAbleAgeAgendasBecomingBelieveBreakBrokenCapableConversationCrossesDelayedDelayed GratificationDesireDiscipline

The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved Quotes

“Life is about love. It's about whom you love and whom you hurt. Life's about how you love yourself and how you hurt yourself. Life's about how you love and hurt the people close to you. Life is about how you love and hurt the people who just cross your path for a moment. Life is about love.”

PeopleLifeMomentsLife IsHurtPathCrossesLove YourselfEnlightening
Book:The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
Create image

“Love is the wanting, and the having, and the choosing, and the becoming. Love is the desire to see the person we love be and become all he or she is capable of being and becoming. Love is a willingness to lay down our own personal plans, desires, and agenda for the good of the relationship. Love is delayed gratification, pleasure, and pain. Love is being able to live and thrive apart, but choosing to be together.”

LovePersonsAgeAblePainTogetherDesireLove IsPleasurePlansBecomingCapableLaysThriveAgendasWillingnessGratificationLove RelationshipPain And PleasureDelayedLove PainDelayed Gratification
Book:The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
Create image

“We should show respect for other people even before they have done anything to deserve it, simply because they are human beings. Respect reminds people of their innate and extraordinary value even if they have forgotten it themselves. At the same time, we should always expect to have to earn the respect of others. I have often heard people speak of their encounters with great leaders such as Mother Teresa and Gandhi, and almost to a person they say the same thing, “I felt that for those moments there was nothing else in the world but the two of us and our conversation. People were trying to pull at us, and there was a schedule to be keep, but she gazed into my eyes as if she didn’t have a care in the world, as if nothing other than me existed.” Who doesn’t like to be treated in that way? How do such people do it? The outer action of respect is born from the inner quality of reverence, and that reverence is the fruit of reflection, which helps us to see people and things in their true value.”

LoveRespect
Book:The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
Create image

“Virtue is the foundation of character. You can build your life on the foundation of virtues such as patience, kindness, humility, gentleness, forgiveness, and love. Or you can build your life on the foundation of whims, cravings, fancies, illegitimate wants, and selfish desires. The former will create a life of passion and purpose, while the later will create an irritable, restless, and discontented life.”

CharacterVirtue
Book:The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
Create image

“In our relationships, we have to make the same choice: to build upon a foundation of virtue, or upon a foundation of selfishness. If we choose to base our relationships upon the foundation of a common goal to become the-best-version-of-ourselves, and understand that the best way to pursue this goal is by growing in virtue, then our relationship will likely be marked with joyfulness and contentedness. On the other hand if we choose to build our relationships on our unsteady and ever shifting whims, cravings, and self-centered desires, our relationship will more than likely be marked by an irritable, restless, and discontented spirit.”

CharacterRelationshipsVirtueIntimacy
Book:The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
Create image

“The same thing happens in relationships. When physical intimacy is established too quickly, we may think it is wonderful, but almost immediately it begins to stunt the growth of the relationship. We begin to overvalue physical intimacy, become preoccupied with it, and begin to judge and value our relationship on the basis of physical intimacy. As a result, we neglect the nurturing of the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of the relationship, and over time that neglect will create a distortion in its very character.”

SexRelationshipsIntimacy
Book:The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
Create image

“Spiritual intimacy is the most rewarding form of intimacy and the hardest to achieve. Once you have tasted spiritual intimacy you will discover that physical, emotional, and intellectual intimacy, while breathtaking in their own right, do not belong in the same realm as spiritual intimacy. You will also discover that as you and your partner grow in spiritual intimacy, your experience of physical, emotional, and intellectual intimacy will also be heightened. At the core of the human person is the soul, and it yearns to be fed and nurtured.”

SpiritualityRelationshipsIntimacySpiritual Intimacy
Book:The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
Create image