Quotes About Empathy

Timeon had quite possibly been traveling a long time, Mearme thought with no compassion.

Somewhere there is a man who is not afraid to live in a woman's hope

Avery did not know what Jean was thinking, only that there was intense thought behind those eyes filled with tears. It was not only her weeping that moved him, but this intensity of thought he perceived in her. Already he knew that he did not want to tamper, to force open, to take what was not his; and that he was willing to wait for a long time for her to speak herself to him.

I learned to tolerate images rising in me like bruises.

All grief, anyone's grief...is the weight of a sleeping child.

Sitting alone with Jean, Avery felt for the first time that he was part of the world, engaged in the same simple happiness that was known to so many and was so miraculous. He wanted to know everything; he did not mean this carelessly. He wanted to know the child and the schoolgirl, what she'd believed in and what she'd loved, what she'd worn and what she'd read -- no detail was too small or insignificant -- so that when at last he touched her, his hands would have this intelligence.

No man is an island,' said John Donne. I feel we are all islands -- in a common sea.

My Life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.

Perhaps both men and women in America may hunger, in our material, outward, active, masculine culture, for the supposedly feminine qualities of heart, mind and spirit--qualities which are actually neither masculine nor feminine, but simply human qualities that have been neglected. It is growth along these lines that will make us whole, and will enable the individual to become world to himself.

Love does not consist in gazing at each other (one perfect sunrise gazing at another!) but in looking outward together in the same direction.

Tragedy is the common lot of man. 'So many people have lost children' I remind myself. pp 178-179 This tragedy is such an inextricable part of my story that it cannot be left out of an honest record. Suffering - no matter how multiplied - is always individual. p 179

I feel we are all islands-in a common sea. We are all, in the last analysis, alone. When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others.

Only when one is connected to one's own core is one connected to others, I am beginning to discover. And, for me, the core, the inner spring, can best be refound through solitude.

When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others.

No man is an island," said John Donne. I feel we are all islands—in a common sea.

Only when one is connected to one's inner core is one connected to others. And for me, the core, the inner spring, can best be re-found through solitude ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

One longs to explain, to be sure they understand, the people one loves.

The interrelatedness of the world links us constantly with more people than our heart can hold. Or rather, for I believe the heart is infinite, modern communication loads us with more problems than the human frame can carry.

Traditionally we are taught, and instinctively we long, to give where it is needed—and immediately.

Think about it: whether your child is tiny or college-age or anywhere in between, verbal put-downs are a subtle but very real form of child abuse.

Why is it so important to affirm a child? Because a child who is truly accepted by his parents and/or influencing adults can growing up learning to accept himself. Without a constant, debilitating sense of guilt and defeat, he will become at ease with himself. He'll be able to admit his own failures and weaknesses. He'll be able to forget himself and love others. He won't spend his energies worrying about what people think of him, and he won't spend his energies putting down others.

Maybe right and wrong did not move, but understanding of them did. The wrenching pain of walking the same path, even for a short space, tore away the willingness to judge.

I'm so sorry, my dear," she said quietly. "It's a shock, even though he was old. Pieces of our lives being chipped away reminds us of our own fragility, and how precious life is.

Be aware that you can truly help people only by aiding them to become what they are, not what you are.