Love is, above all else, the gift of oneself.

The line defines love not as a feeling one possesses but as an act of self-donation: giving time, attention, loyalty, and vulnerability to another. By calling it “above all else” the quote ranks self-gift higher than romance, desire, or even compatibility—suggesting love is proved through what one willingly yields (ego, comfort, autonomy) for the beloved’s good. Read this way, it aligns with ethical and even spiritual traditions that treat love as a chosen commitment rather than a passing emotion. It also implies a risk: to love is to place part of oneself in another’s keeping, making love inseparable from trust and sacrifice.