Quotes About Understanding

understand." Allie said, "Well, I don't know that we would need to go that far." He relaxed his grip on the phone. The two young girls just behind him could not stop laughing. They kept dissolving in cascades of giggles, sputtering and squeaking. What did girls that age find so

However different the two might be in other ways, they both had this notion that reading up on something, getting equipped for something, would put them in control.

She would have made a better mother, perhaps, if she hadn't remembered so well how it felt to be a child.

Didn't it often happen, she thought, that aged parents die exactly at the moment when other people (your husband, your adolescent children) have stopped being thrilled to see you coming? But a parent is always thrilled, always dwells so lovingly on your face as you are speaking.

you don't have to bend over backwards, either, and go asking her to dinner or something. She does have a family of her own. You're supposed to take my side in this." "I thought you didn't want us to take sides." "No, no, I don't. I mean you shouldn't take her side, is what I'm trying to say.

these people are a family. See? They want to learn how families work and that's what they think these customers are. Get it?" "Got it," Willa said.

Oh, my. I guess it's true what they say about how you have to skip a generation to appreciate some of your relatives.

Oh, Robin. She's brokenhearted. You remember how it feels." "No, I do not remember. She's fifteen years old. She's going to fall for some new boy before the week is out; you watch." "She says nobody understands her and she wants to die," Mercy told him. Then she asked, "Can I have the rest of your salad?

The trouble with wide-open families was, there was something very narrow about their attitude to not-open families.

You can never take it for granted that family members will like each other.

make her feel sort of naïve and inexperienced. He often addressed her as

There ought to be a while separate language, she thought, for words that are truer than other words - for perfect, absolute truth. It was the purest fact of her life: she did not understand him, and she never would.

About your son, she seemed to be saying: Just put your hand here. I'm scared, too. We're all scared. You're not the only one.

I'm just saying a person can be too understanding," he said. "Too sympathizing and pitying, like. Getting into a kid's private brain." "There is no such thing as 'too understanding.' Ã¢â'¬Â "Well, count on a social worker to think that.

History is not just about the things we like or the people we want to love and admire—a fantasy date with our favorite dead person.

It is safe to assume that any individual or group you wish to influence has access to more wisdom than they currently use. It is also safe to assume that they also have considerably more facts than they can process effectively. Giving them even more facts adds to the wrong pile. They don't need more facts. They need help finding their wisdom. Contrary to popular belief, bad decisions are rarely made because people don't have all the facts.

When studying tools of influence, people always ask the question, "How can I make them listen to me?" They ask because that is what they think they want to learn. Unfortunately, this can never be learned because it can't be done. You can't make someone listen. You can entice, inspire, cajole, stimulate, or fascinate but you cannot make anyone listen to anything. Embracing this fact up-front lets us focus on what we can do.

There are six types of stories that will serve you well in your efforts to influence others. 1. "Who I Am" Stories 2. "Why I Am Here" Stories 3. "The Vision" Story 4. "Teaching" Stories 5. "Values-in-Action" Stories 6. "I Know What You Are Thinking

It suddenly struck me that Dawsey is a lonesome person. I think it may be that he has always been lonely, but he didn't mind before, and now he minds.

The wonderful thing about books--and the thing that made them such a refuge for the islanders during the Occupation--is that they take us out of our time and place and understanding, and transport us not just into the world of the story, but into the world of our fellow readers, who have stories of their own.

All of us see a story according to our own lights. None of us is capable of objectivity. You

We live in all we seek.

I cannot imagine a sorrier pursuit than struggling for years to write a book that attempts to appeal to people who do not read in the first place.

why did I have to keep learning this same thing over and over?