Empathy Quotes
691 quotes
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive."
"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."
"All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart."
"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."
"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
"To perceive is to suffer."
"It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being."
"No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care"
"Our bodies have five senses: touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing. But not to be overlooked are the senses of our souls: intuition, peace, foresight, trust, empathy. The differences between people lie in their use of these senses; most people don't know anything about the inner senses while a few people rely on them just as they rely on their physical senses, and in fact probably even more."
"I call him religious who understands the suffering of others."
"None of us can choose where we shall love..."
"There are so many men, all endlessly attempting to sweep me off my feet. And there is one of you, trying just the opposite. Making sure my feet are firm beneath me, lest I fall."
"Good works is giving to the poor and the helpless, but divine works is showing them their worth to the One who matters."
"It’s not so much the journey that’s important; as is the way that we treat those we encounter and those around us, along the way"
"If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in."
"Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you do criticize him, you'll be a mile away and have his shoes."
"Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding."
"After every storm, there is a rainbow. If you have eyes, you will find it. If you have wisdom, you will create it. If you have love for yourself and others, you won’t need it."
"Sooner or later in life, we will all take our own turn being in the position we once had someone else in."
"The heart of an Irishman is nothing but his imagination"
"Only by examining our personal biases can we truly grow as artists; only by cultivating empathy can we truly grow as people."
"Each person you meetis an aspect of yourself,clamoring for love."
"A prophet is not someone with special visions, just someone blind to most of what others see"
"Education leads to enlightenment. Enlightenment opens the way to empathy. Empathy foreshadows reform."
"Parents who discipline their child by discussing the consequences of their actions produce children who have better moral development , compared to children whose parents use authoritarian methods and punishment."
"Among all the creatures of creation, the gods favor us: We are the only ones who can empathize with their problems."
"Anguish is the universal language"
"People die from lack of shared empathy and affinity. By establishing social connectedness, we give hope a chance and the other can become heaven. ( "Le ciel c'est l'autre")"
"For you see, when us people who know run into each other that's an event. It almost never happens. Sometimes we meet each other and neither guesses that the other is one who knows. That's a bad thing. It's happened to me a lot of times. But you see there are so few of us."
"Any man filled with empathy is capable of gaining valuable insights on the human condition through the suffering of others. You do not need to suffer to know suffering, but you need empathy first to identify and feel the suffering of others around you."
"For those constantly full of joy, they sometimes feel a little guilty for always feeling so good. That guilt is compassion: it flies in with an attempt to share one's joy with others who do not have it."
"A lion of truth never assumes anything without validity. Assumptions are quick exits for lazy minds that like to graze out in the fields without bother."
"A person feels the pain in judicious proportion to the sensitive nature cherished in own world; otherwise there is enough fun, happiness, enjoyment and pleasure in life."
"A long list of propositions does not necessarily make a coherent argument"
"Oxford in the Inklings' day was not so different in look and smell from the Oxford of today. Then, as now, one was tempted to fantasize one's surroundings as a Camelot of intellectual knight-errantry or an Eden of serene contemplation. Then, as now, there was bound to be disappointment."
"It’s important that what thoughts you are feeding into your mind because your thoughts create your belief and experiences. You have positive thoughts and you have negative ones too. Nurture your mind with positive thoughts: kindness, empathy, compassion, peace, love, joy, humility, generosity, etc. The more you feed your mind with positive thoughts, the more you can attract great things into your life."
"Men build too many walls and not enough bridges."
"There is no key to open the heart of another - except curiosity."
"Your strength will be found when you stop struggling with yourself, instead of thinking everyone is a struggle worth overcoming. Every obstacle in life is a lesson that teaches us, not others."
"Faith keeps our ships moving, while empathy and the memories of our experiences lead to wisdom."
Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
"Take lightly what you hear about individuals. We need not distort trust for our paltry little political agendas. We tend to trust soulless, carried information more than we trust soulful human beings; but really most people aren't so bad once you sit down and have an honest, one-on-one conversation with them, once, with an open heart, you listen to their explanations as to why they act the way they act, or say what they say, or do what they do."
"Opportunities to share love and compassion are all around us. Its going to take an army of compassionate people to heal our world. How will you show yours?"
Renae A. Sauter, An Empowered Life: Mind/Body/Spirit Empowerment
"Empathy nurtures wisdom. Apathy cultivates ignorance."
Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
"Your actions will always be what the world sees, but people who choose to see through God's eyes will always have the compassion to understand why."
"There is no real distinction between who can and cannot be a teacher. All that matters is that this person should have knowledge of the subject matter, empathy and compassion with others, and, above all, a great sense of humor which is the true mark of wisdom."
"He who has little problems, shows little love. He who has overcome huge problems, has giant love. Because he understands what it means and won’t have others suffer like he did."
"There is no real distinction between who can and cannot be a teacher. All that matters is that this person should have knowledge of the subject matter, empath and compassion with others, and, above all, a great sense of humor which is the true mark of wisdom."
"Empathy is the ability to step outside of your own bubble and into the bubbles of other people. Empathy is the ability that allows us to be useful creatures on this planet; without empathy, we are a waste of oxygen in this world. Without empathy, we are lower than animals. Empathy is the ability that allows us the perception of things around us, outside of ourselves; so a person without empathy is a limited human being, someone who will only live half of a life."
"Beware trying to iron out all your quirks, perceived flaws and doubts. It's often these things that help you find strength, compassion, empathy for others and heart."
"Be the person you needed when you needed help."
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