is it better to have loved and lost or never to have loved?

Question

was shakespeare right?

Answer 1

Definately loved and lost - think of all the memories you can treasure, the things you learnt, the way it shaped you as a person. To have never loved is to have never realised your true potential as a human being.

Answer 2

I assume you mean romantic love....
I think the answer could depend upon how it leaves you in the end....someone like Mother Theresa could take a vow of chastity, swearing off romantic love, but instead of a man as the object of her love, mankind was. Who are we to say that she couldn't have felt completely fulfilled helping the poor, elevated spiritually, and may never have regretted her decision?

And if someone who loved and lost, who was once kind and caring, were to become angry, bitter and full of hatred to the degree that they never changed, made others miserable as a result, and all this because of the love they lost, they obviously did not come out of it well.

....the answer to your question is subjective...
however, it seems as if most people who have loved and lost don't swear off love for the rest of their lives because of that one loss, and when and if they get it again, they may appreciate and value it more, if the loss taught them a lesson in not taking someone for granted.

Both ones, the one who loved and lost (and we assume ends up alone) and the one who never loved, would, we assume, end up with loneliness as a result....except one has memories of loving, one doesnt...and sometimes loneliness can be wretched enough that even memories don't satisfy--in fact the pain can be worse...
To what extent one can miss something if they never had it to know what exactly they're missing--they're missing a dream or an ideal, not a reality they had, perhaps missing the reality could hurt more...

There again, love can be not about the love you get,(thus the love you'd "lose") but be about the transformative experience of giving love, in that instance of course, better to have loved and lost than not at all...I added this after seeing the other questions you wrote, and judging by them, I'd say what perfectly describes this is the movie "Marvin's Room." --check it out!

Answer 3

If it's the good love that you had, then it was worth it... but it's better to have no love than to be stuck in a dreadful relationship. I mean, you can just end up destroying each other's lives if you aren't careful about who you get together with. You'd be better waiting for a better match on your tod than starting that sort of thing. Still, you can never tell when the good love is going to come, so it's okay if you make a few mistakes ;)

Answer 4

I'd like to say yes, but i lost someone i loved more than anything in the world and i can't describe the feeling of devestation i would not wish it on anyone. all i can say is try it and you'll see what i mean, i don't think shakespeare was ever in love!

Answer 5

I say love and lost because at least then you will know why you have an empty feeling. Being able to love someone and them showing the same love in return is the greatest gift that anyone can ask for. So I would rather say know what's out there then to be in the "dark".

Answer 6

Yes. And if you ask "what does he know" then I will tell you I met the woman of my life when I was 18. After 11 years of marriage this wonderful woman passed away. The pain of that was more then I ever thought pain could be. But now, 2 years later I look back and realize the time she was in my life, gave me a life. It was better to love her and loose her, then if I had never known her.
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Answer 7

Yes it really is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all, love is something everyone needs in life and it comes in many forms too, hope your getting all the love you want.

Answer 8

The answer here is a resounding YES
it is all in the game of life -- the love and the loosing
and to live life without the FULL experience is a shame to begin with---but to NEVER have loved--now there's the major dig !!!

Been there and have the tee shirt collection--a lot of hurt--but a lot of great memories too
For the alternative---I'll keep both----close to my heart !!!

Answer 9

Yes it is better to have loved and lost. Love, cheesy as it might sound, opens your soul to an incredible swing of experiences and emotions. To not love, to have never been hurt by it would be a sad sad existence.

Answer 10

In my opinion, yes it is better to have loved and lost. If you have never loved how do you show love?