Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we

“Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.” — These radiant words from Elbert Hubbard, the philosopher, writer, and craftsman of the early twentieth century, contain a truth that defies all logic yet governs all hearts. In them lies the paradox of love — that it cannot be hoarded like gold, nor guarded like treasure, for the more one clings to it, the more it slips away. Love is not meant to be possessed, but shared, and it is only in the act of giving that it multiplies. Thus, Hubbard unveils one of life’s greatest mysteries: love is the only wealth that increases when spent, the only fire that grows warmer when divided among many.

To understand this saying, we must look to the nature of love itself. It is not an emotion confined within the heart, but a living force, dynamic and self-renewing. Love is motion, not stillness — a current that flows outward or dies. The miser of love, who gives sparingly, finds his heart cold and empty. But the generous soul, who pours love into the world — through kindness, forgiveness, and service — discovers that his heart becomes vast as the sea. Love given does not diminish; it returns in unseen ways, changed but unbroken. Hubbard, ever the keen observer of human nature, saw that this was the law of both the spirit and the universe: what we give freely, we truly possess.

Hubbard himself lived this truth. A man of vision and enterprise, he founded the Roycroft movement, a community of artisans in New York devoted to beauty, craftsmanship, and cooperation. He believed that work done with love ennobles both maker and receiver. His writings, full of warmth and wit, were acts of generosity — gifts to the human spirit. Though his life was cut short aboard the Lusitania in 1915, the love he gave through his work has outlived his years. He understood that love, whether expressed through art, friendship, or faith, is eternal only when it flows outward. The heart that loves only itself becomes stagnant, but the heart that gives becomes immortal.

This principle has been echoed through the ages. Consider the life of Mother Teresa, who gave herself wholly to the poor and dying of Calcutta. She possessed little in material wealth, yet her soul was rich beyond measure. She did not love because it was easy, but because she knew that love is life’s highest act of creation. Every person she touched was a seed of love sown into the world — and from those seeds blossomed a movement that continues to heal and inspire. In her self-giving, she embodied Hubbard’s truth: that the love we give away is the only love we keep. For even as her body weakened, her spirit only grew stronger, sustained by the very love she gave.

There is a spiritual law at work here — as old as creation itself. Just as fire must give heat to survive, so must love express itself to endure. The selfish heart fears loss and withholds affection, thinking to protect itself. But love withheld is like a stream blocked by stones — it stagnates, breeds bitterness, and loses its purity. The generous heart, on the other hand, is like a spring that flows ceaselessly. Its giving renews its strength; its selflessness becomes its reward. To give love is not to diminish oneself, but to draw nearer to the divine source from which all love flows.

Yet, giving love does not mean surrendering wisdom or being blind to harm. True love is not weak indulgence, but creative strength — the courage to forgive when wronged, to serve without recognition, to uplift even when weary. Each act of love transforms both giver and receiver, weaving invisible bonds that sustain the world. To love is to participate in life’s greatest miracle: the turning of selfish desire into sacred communion. Hubbard’s words remind us that love’s immortality lies in its movement, not its possession.

Therefore, beloved reader, take this teaching into your heart: love is not kept by holding, but by giving. Speak kindly to those who have forgotten kindness. Forgive those who wound you, for in doing so you free yourself. Offer your time, your patience, your understanding — not because others always deserve it, but because your soul does. When you feel empty, give again; when you feel lonely, reach outward; when you feel unloved, love more deeply. The heart is not a vessel that empties with use — it is a flame that grows brighter the more it burns.

For this is the eternal rhythm of Hubbard’s wisdom: to give love is to live forever. What we give becomes the echo of our existence, resonating beyond our days. Let your life, then, be a continual offering — of care, of joy, of tenderness. For the love you give away is the only love that will never leave you. It will return, changed into grace, and in that grace, your spirit will find its peace.