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I wanted to hurry because I have a work to do there, and every day here is marking time, and because it hurts me every time I see you and [he] growing closer and you and me growing more distant, even though I know it's exactly as it should be, so when I decided to go, I thought that going quickly was better, and I was right; you know I'm right. I never thought you'd hate me for it I don't hate you, I love you, you're part of myself, you're my heart and when you go it's my heart torn out and carried away

Orson Scott Card#84

LoveSacrificeDutyLeavingDeparture

About this quote

What does it mean?
Leaving for necessary work causes pain but is ultimately right, even if it hurts the heart.
In plain terms
Leaving because you have work is hard, but it is right even if it hurts.
What can you take from it?
Sometimes you must choose duty over closeness.

Where it applies

  • career choices
  • family separation
  • hard decisions

Putting it to work

  • prioritizing long-term goals
  • accepting grief

Questions to consider

  • How do you choose between duty and love?
  • Is pain proof of right choice?

Another view

Staying might cause different kinds of regret.

More from Orson Scott Card

  1. I followed you gladly to two dozen worlds, but you wouldn't even stay two weeks when I asked you Listen to yourself and then see why I have to leave now, befor…

    Permalink to quote #83
  2. Not that they talked - [they] knew each other so well that there was often nothing to say. But without her there, [he] grew impatient with his own thoughts; th…

    Permalink to quote #85
  3. [This] isn't my home [she] felt his words like an accusation: you rooted yourself here without thought of whether I could live in this soil. But it's not my fa…

    Permalink to quote #82

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