I have been a teacher myself all my life. I have an intense

In the luminous and compassionate words of Leo Buscaglia, we hear the eternal call of wisdom: “I have been a teacher myself all my life. I have an intense passion to share with people. Our only salvation is in knowledge, in learning.” These are not the idle reflections of a scholar, but the heartfelt confession of a man who believed that love and knowledge are the twin forces that redeem the human spirit. Buscaglia, known to many as “Dr. Love,” spent his life teaching that to learn is to live — that through learning, we are not merely informed, but transformed. His words are a hymn to the sacred bond between the teacher and the learner, between wisdom and salvation, between the mind that questions and the heart that opens.

The origin of this quote lies in Buscaglia’s lifelong devotion to education — both in the classroom and in the soul. Born to Italian immigrant parents, he was raised in a household where love, curiosity, and compassion were the foundation of life. As a university professor, he became famous not for his academic rigor alone, but for his humanity. He taught a course called Love 1A, believing that the greatest subject one could ever master was the art of caring. When he says, “Our only salvation is in knowledge, in learning,” he speaks not of knowledge as mere accumulation of facts, but as awakening — an ever-deepening awareness that connects us to ourselves, to others, and to the world.

To Buscaglia, teaching was not a profession; it was a form of love in action. To teach is to give oneself — to share one’s inner fire so that others may light their own. He speaks with the urgency of one who understands that ignorance is humanity’s greatest peril. The wars that scar the earth, the hatreds that divide hearts, the greed that poisons societies — all are born of ignorance. But knowledge, when joined with compassion, becomes the great healer. Like the ancients who gathered their disciples beneath olive trees and temple steps, Buscaglia saw the act of learning as sacred communion — a way of bringing humanity closer to its divine purpose.

Consider the life of Socrates, the ancient philosopher who walked the streets of Athens asking questions that stirred the soul. He claimed to know nothing, yet through his questions, he awakened the world. His pursuit of truth cost him his life, but his legacy became immortal — for he proved that learning is the path to freedom. He, like Buscaglia, understood that knowledge alone could save humanity — not by making men clever, but by making them wise. The teacher, in this light, becomes a bridge between ignorance and enlightenment, between despair and hope.

There is a profound humility in Buscaglia’s declaration, “I have been a teacher myself all my life.” It is not the boast of mastery, but the confession of a pilgrim. For the true teacher never ceases to be a student. Each soul encountered, each life touched, becomes another lesson. To teach is to learn anew every day — to discover that wisdom is not a mountain to be conquered, but a river that flows endlessly, carrying us toward deeper understanding. The passion to share is not the desire to be admired, but the yearning to see others awaken, to see light kindle in their eyes where once there was darkness.

When he speaks of salvation, Buscaglia does not mean escape from the world, but redemption within it. Salvation is found in awakening the mind and heart — in choosing curiosity over cynicism, empathy over apathy. The world, he reminds us, cannot be healed by weapons or wealth, but by the expansion of consciousness. The child who learns to question, the adult who learns to listen, the elder who continues to seek truth — these are the builders of a better world. Each act of learning pushes back the night of ignorance and brings forth the dawn of understanding.

So let this be the lesson carried forward from Buscaglia’s words: never cease to be a learner, and never be afraid to teach what you love. Share what you know, not as a boast, but as a gift. Read deeply, question bravely, listen humbly. For every book opened, every conversation that sparks reflection, every truth shared with another — these are steps toward humanity’s salvation. The world grows weary when men stop learning; it is renewed when hearts are reignited by wonder.

Therefore, let your life be a living classroom. Be, as Leo Buscaglia was, both teacher and student, both giver and seeker of wisdom. And when your own flame of knowledge burns brightly, hold it high — not for yourself, but to light the path for others who still walk in shadow. For in the end, as Buscaglia taught, our only salvation is in knowledge, in learning — in the courage to grow, to love, and to keep the human spirit alive through the power of understanding.