Quotes About Empathy

Staying married may have long-term benefits. You can elicit much more sympathy from friends over a bad marriage than you ever can from a good divorce.

As I get older, all sorts of things become less funny. Once one has children, any cruelty involving children becomes far less amusing than when one was at the mercy of one's friends' and relatives' children.

If we are kind and considerate, people will want to be around us, and we benefit from enduring circles of attention and care.

You must live with people to know their problems, and live with God in order to solve them.

Being human doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you're subject to the same little quirks and foibles as the rest of us—for which you should be grateful.

I've found that the way a person feels about cats-and the way they feel about him or her in return-is usually an excellent gauge by which to measure a person's character

It was like his entire body was having a conversation with Justin's body, though they were barely touching.

And being mean? It takes energy. As in, you wake up in the morning and you've got only so much energy for the day, and being mean just sucks it right out of you. It's exhausting.

If there is one thing I dislike, it is the man who tries to air his grievances when I wish to air mine.

As we grow older and realize more clearly the limitations of human happiness, we come to see that the only real and abiding pleasure in life is to give pleasure to other people.

When the healthy pursuit of self-interest and self-realization turns into self-absorption, other people can lose their intrinsic value in our eyes and become mere means to the fulfillment of our needs and desires.

a crucial measure of our success in life is the way we treat one another every day of our lives.

A WORD OF KINDNESS IS SELDOM SPOKEN IN VAIN, WHILE WITTY SAYINGS ARE AS EASILY LOST AS THE PEARLS SLIPPING FROM A BROKEN STRING. —George Prentice

WHEREVER THERE IS A HUMAN BEING, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A KINDNESS' —Lucius Annaeus Seneca (p.3).

rudeness begets conflict with others but also conflict within ourselves, and the latter can prove as hurtful as the former (p. 43).

A human moment occurs anytime two or more people are together, paying attention to one another. — Edward M. Hallowell (p. 34)

In the midst of a culture that glorifies indulgent, self-expression, we may find…that when we find the strength to engage in considerate listening we are in fact expressing ourselves. At our best (p. 53).

The problem is not that humans are by nature incapable of knowing how to love, but that the circumstances of their lives often prevent them from learning.

yielding our seat on a bus whenever it seems appropriate; alerting the person sitting behind us on a plane when we are about to lower the back of our seat; standing close to the right-side handrail on an escalator; stopping to give directions to someone who is lost; stopping at red lights; disagreeing with poise; yielding with grace when losing an argument, these diverse behaviors are all imbued with the spirit of civility.

we can learn to love. How do we do that? …First things first. First we discipline our ego to look beyond the narrow confines of its immediate needs; then we will have a change to understand what real love is. First manners, then love (pp.19-20).

I am convinced that, to a significant extent, life is what our relationships make it. …To learn how to be happy we must learn how to live well with others, and civility is a key to that (p. 6).

The Noblest of Arts is Making Others Happy

The noblest art is that of making others happy

El arte más noble, es la de hacer felices a los demás