We are out sisters’ keepers.

All that we can’t say is all we need to hear.

Sure, the outcome was favourable, but what was the cost? Wasn’t changing the way she felt about something not far from taking away her free will altogether?

…It also taught me that while cruelty can be fun for a few moments, compassion has a much longer shelf life.

I’ve come to the conclusion that liking a person we are required to have dealings with is not of paramount importance. But respect is crucial, on both sides, as is tolerance, and a depth of...

Mostly we think of people with great authority as higher up, far away, hard to reach. But spiritual authority comes from compassion and emerges from deep inner solidarity with those who are ‘subject’ to authority....

The faculty to think objectively is reason; the emotional attitude behind reason is that of humility. To be objective, to use one’s reason, is possible only if one has achieved an attitude of humility, if...

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.

safety net” created by a trusted support system I feel like I can tackle stressors in my life and be effective. Because my caregivers have been accurately attuned to me emotionally and reflected my thoughts...

The misery of other people is only an abstraction […] something that can be sympathized with only by drawing from one’s own experiences. But as it stands, true empathy remains impossible. And so long as...

My knowledge of myself is direct, synthetic, from within outwards; my knowledge of other persons is indirect, analytical, from outside inwards. My knowledge of myself starts at the core; that of others at the crust.

The internet and online communication is the window into your world – but real life, in person communication / connection is the door.

I am not an ornithologist—I am a bird.

We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same things-it’s all just a different kind of the same thing.

The difference between a moral person and a person of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, made out of weakness and tries to make amends with their life when they find the...

Life is like an extremely toughest examination and so the passing percentage of its students is abysmally low; a person with his 70 % contributions of the true kind deeds has only cleared it with...

Empathy isn’t about you, understanding another person isn’t about you, feeling how another person feels isn’t about you… step outside of your own skin for a change. Respect another person because they are who they...

IT IS NOT ABOUT SYMPATHY OR LIKEABILITY, EITHER. EMPATHY IS ABOUT THE TRANSLATION OF FEELING.

As a kid my heart would break for the villains.

Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands. Our...

The moral crisis she’d just gone through made her feel indulgent toward the faults, the delinquencies of others. How thoroughly a human being can be buffeted and over-mastered by fate had been borne in upon...

Becoming aware of the intense suffering of billions of animals, and of our own participation in that suffering, can bring up painful emotions: sorrow and grief for the animals; anger at the injustice and deception...

Imagining someone else’s pain with too much surety can be as damaging as failing to imagine it.

A book is a little empathy machine. It puts you inside somebody else’s head. You see out of the world through somebody else’s eyes. It’s very hard to hate people of a certain kind when...

I’m not asking you to walk in my shoes; I’d never wish my afflictions on anyone. But could you walk beside me on secure ground and reach to hold my hand?

When we fail to harmonize and integrate, living systems, from individuals to families and countries, tend to move toward either chaos or rigidity.

…if we do not know how to defend ourselves, our women and our places of worship by force of suffering, i.e., nonviolence, we must, if we are men, be at least able to defend all...

LEAR: …yet you see how this world goes.GLOS.: I see it feelingly.

Is it foolish to care for non-existent folk?Then, leave me to my foolishness.

Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the...

When we take into consideration the needs of both ourselves and others, we communicate honestly, compassionately and effectively.

When you can begin to see the similarities between you and your work colleagues in respect of ‘being human’ and the collective challenges we all face, it makes life much easier to deal with, especially...

If I could give one message to the bullied, it would be this: You are not alone. You are strong. You have a voice. You are beautiful. You are intelligent. There are many kids who...

Since I was a small girl, I have lived inside this cottage, shelted by its roof and walls. I have known of people suffering—I have not been blind to them in the way that privilege...

When we fully understand the brevity of life, its fleeting joys and unavoidable pains; when we accept the facts that all men and women are approaching an inevitable doom: the consciousness of it should make...

You can’t fix things with a hug, but you can’t make them any worse either.

…to make art is to realize another’s sadness within, realize the hidden sadness in other people’s lives, to feel sad with and for a stranger.

I learn from my own daughter that you don’t have to be awake to cry.

…the best way to forgive someone is to enter into their sufferings …

Walk with me for a while, my friend—you in my shoes, I in yours—and then let us talk.

I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.

Help other people ,help themselves

Half of the time, the Holy Ghost tries to warn us about certain people that come into our life. The other half of the time he tries to tell us that the sick feeling we...

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...

Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful...

How can the intensity of this shame be understood by those who have never experienced it? How can they understand the strength of the motivations produced by the desire to escape from it?

Sympathy’s easy. You have sympathy for starving children swatting at flies on the late-night commercials. Sympathy is easy because it comes from a position of power. Empathy is getting down on your knees and looking...

To care means first of all to empty our own cup and to allow the other to come close to us. It means to take away the many barriers which prevent us from entering into...

How does one develop compassion for someone with a completely different set of values without reading something from their point of view? Books are one of the ways in which we can truly get into...

•People deserve a break. The stressed and unorganized person who doesn’t have the same priorities as you may be dealing with an autistic child, abusive spouse, fading parents, or cancer. Don’t judge people until you’ve...