People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense.

“People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense.” — Ken Kesey

Thus spoke Ken Kesey, the restless spirit of the twentieth century, who saw the world not as it was told to him, but as it truly was — raw, beautiful, and chaotic. In this paradoxical truth, he reminds us that love, though often cloaked in passion and feeling, is not merely an emotion that burns and fades like fire. It is something higher, steadier, wiser — it is good sense, the natural order of the human heart aligned with truth. Where emotion blinds, love sees clearly. Where desire wavers, love endures. Kesey calls us back to the ancient understanding that love is not madness, but harmony — the deep intelligence of the soul that knows what truly matters.

To call love an emotion is to confine it to the fleeting. Emotions rise and fall with the tides of circumstance — they are the waves. But love is the ocean beneath. It is not chaos but rhythm, not frenzy but knowing. The good sense of love lies in its clarity: it recognizes the sacred in another being and chooses, again and again, to act with care. It is not a storm of feeling, but a decision rooted in wisdom. Love, rightly understood, is not blind at all — it sees through illusion and still chooses to give.

Kesey’s words come from a time of rebellion — an age when the world mistook freedom for indulgence and passion for truth. Yet he saw deeper. He saw that the greatest freedom is not to chase every emotion, but to anchor oneself in compassion, loyalty, and understanding. The wisdom of love is the wisdom of balance — to care without losing oneself, to give without expectation, to stand firm even when passion cools. In this, Kesey echoes the voices of the ancients: love is not folly; it is the truest form of wisdom.

Consider the life of Mahatma Gandhi, who loved not one person but all mankind. His love was not sentimental, nor born of easy emotion. It was grounded in good sense — in the recognition that hatred only multiplies pain, while love transforms it. When struck, he turned the other cheek not from weakness, but from understanding. He knew that violence breeds more violence, but love — patient, reasoned, disciplined — is the only force that heals. His love was not a fever of the heart; it was an act of divine logic, a love guided by vision and reason.

So too, in our everyday lives, this truth remains. To love wisely is to act with discernment. When a friend falters, love does not condemn; it guides. When a partner errs, love does not explode; it listens. When the world grows cruel, love does not retreat; it stands its ground. This is good sense — the kind of love that builds homes, raises children, and restores nations. The heart that loves with sense becomes unshakable, for it does not depend on the winds of feeling, but on the pillars of principle.

Yet let us not think Kesey meant to strip love of its beauty. The wise love he speaks of is not cold or distant. It feels deeply — but it lets feeling serve truth, not rule over it. It knows that to love wisely is to love well, for reckless passion may ignite, but only wise love sustains the flame. Emotion alone may start the song, but good sense keeps it in harmony. To love with sense is to love fully — not only with the heart, but with the mind and the soul in unity.

Therefore, O seeker of understanding, take this teaching into your life: do not mistake intensity for depth. Let your love be thoughtful as well as tender. Let it be fierce, but not foolish. Choose kindness when anger tempts you, patience when pride would lead you astray. For the highest wisdom is not found in knowledge, but in love that knows itself.

And when doubt arises — when the world calls love naive or weak — remember Ken Kesey’s immortal truth: “People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense.” For love, rightly lived, is the clearest reason of all. It is the mind’s peace joined with the heart’s fire, the one force that can redeem both reason and passion. To love wisely is to live rightly — and to live rightly is to be truly free.