Quote of the Day: Oscar Hammerstein II on Love

Early August carries a particular kind of heat, late-summer brightness that exposes what’s been sitting on the shelf in your life, finished in form but unfinished in use. Plans look polished, relationships look “fine,” good intentions sit neatly folded. And yet the season quietly asks the same question: what are you actually willing to do with what you have? “A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it, A song's not a song 'til you sing it, Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay, Love isn't love 'til you give it away!”

Hammerstein’s genius is how ordinary he makes a profound truth. A bell can be cast perfectly and still be silent. A song can be beautiful on paper and still never reach a single ear. Potential doesn’t comfort anyone. It doesn’t connect anyone. It just waits.

So treat love the same way you treat craft: it’s proven in practice. Love isn’t a private mood; it’s a visible set of choices, an invitation, an apology, a kind boundary, a thoughtful check-in. If you want to feel more alive, stop asking, “Do I have love?” and start asking, “Where did I give it today?” That shift turns emotion into agency and replaces vague longing with courage.

Oscar Hammerstein II earned his authority the hard way, by writing lyrics and librettos that reshaped American musical theater, from “Oklahoma!” to “The Sound of Music,” proving that simple words can move millions when they’re built for the human heart.

Today, choose one small act that makes your love audible: send the message you’ve been postponing, offer sincere thanks to someone who carries weight for you, or do one quiet task that lightens another person’s day, no announcement, no credit, just love in motion. May what’s in you become something that reaches them.