“What barrier is there that love cannot break?”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Gandhi, An Autobiography (The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1927-29), Part IV, ch. 28. Primary text reads 'What barrier is here that love cannot break?' (candidate substitutes 'there' for 'here').
About this quote
Hostility usually feeds on suspicion and fear, and force only hardens it. Patient goodwill works differently — it lowers the other person's guard until the wall they built has nothing left to defend against. It is slow, and it asks you to absorb some hurt, but almost nothing stays sealed against steady care.
When to use it
- A teenager who stops slamming doors after a parent keeps meeting the anger with patience instead of matching it.
- Estranged siblings who slowly reconnect because one keeps sending birthday notes through years of silence.
- A new hire frozen out by the team, won over by a coworker who quietly helps without keeping score.