he keeps looking at the forest.
This is one very interesting and very popular quote by Anton Chekhov.
This quote is very symbolic.
First meaning
Wolf is an animal that is free, always, you cannot force wolf to do anything what he does not want to do. As someone said, wolf is waker than lion and also than bear, but wolf will never be seen in circus.
You cannot change the wolf, and wolf is a symbol of people here. You cannot change people. That is what writer wanted to say.
And, if you ask me that is true, totally true.
No matter what you are giving to people they are who they are and they will stay what they are.
You can give a lot to people, you can love them a lot, you can care for them a lot, you can be the best version of yourself, but you cannot change them.
There is one more quotation, that in my opinion is similar to this one, and it says "They will not be better, if you love them more. Your love cannot fix anyone.". If someone is broken, if someone has a problem, if someone is not good for himself or herslef, he or she will never be good for you.
If someone loves you, he or she can stop doing some everyday things that are not very important. For example, if you want all the doors in your home to be closed, your partner can chage his or her habit to keep them open. But, if your partner is jealous person or for example an greedy person, that will never change.
Big things, essential things in people will stay as they are.
Second meaning
Second meaning of this quotation is that if people you love leave something what they love, because they love you more, they will miss that forever.
Just as the wolf is going to be wild forever and ot miss his forest forever.
If someone left job, hometown, family or for example friends for you, he or she will miss that forever.
Maybe he or she is not going to complain about that, but deep inside he or she will suffer.
And, you cannot change that.
The point of this article is not to make you stop loving others. I just wanted to say that you should let people be what and who they are. Do not make them change, do not ask them to stop loving what they love or doing what they are doing.
If you love someone accept that person, if you cannot accept something, find someone who is better for you, someone, who do not have to change to be perfect for you.
There are many people who will be good to you and for you, focus on them, on finding and keeping them, instead of trying to change those who are not for you.
