Quotes About Empathy

Our sympathy is cold to the relation of distant misery.

I always feel that other people's lives are filled with meaning. You look at them on the street and think how real their lives must be. Of course, you also know that isn't true.

If we can widen the range of experiences beyond what we as individuals have encountered, if we can draw upon the experiences of others who've had to confront comparable situations in the past, then - although there are no guarantees - our chances of acting wisely should increase proportionately.

the historian's need of imaginative understanding for the minds of the people with whom he is dealing, for the thought behind their acts: I say imaginative understanding, not sympathy, lest sympathy should be supposed to imply agreement ... History cannot be written unless the historian can achieve some kind of contact with the mind of those about whom he is writing.

I wanted to tell you somethin, and I have been workin my mind so the words will tumble out in a straight line. You know how that can be, John. I do, Barnum. Just set them words one by one and they'll do fine and we'll get where we got to go.

Celeste had no love for Henry either, but death had taken all his power and now she could afford a little bit of charity.

But, she smiled, it seems to me he has a warm heart.

Que tengamos diferentes puntos de vista no implica que tengamos que ser enemigos, ¿sabes? Sea como sea, las cosas no son tan simples.

Sviatopolk tenía la impresión de que ya no podía seguir odiando, pues el odio que se había nutrido con él año tras año, impulsándolo hacia delante como un cruel jinete que hinca las espuelas en los flancos de su caballo, había acabado por agotarlo.

Cruelty is the opposite of love,' said Patrick, 'not just some inarticulate version of it.

The Talking Heads pulsed from every speaker. 'The centre is missing,' gasped David Byrne, and Patrick could not help agreeing with him. How did they know exactly what he was feeling? It was spooky.

David dropped the hose on the gravel path, thinking how useless to him Eleanor had become. She had been rigid with terror for too long. It was like trying to palpate a patient's swollen liver when one had already proved that it hurt. She could only be persuaded to relax so often.

The question filled Patrick with the horror which assailed him when he was asked to consider another person's feelings. How was Debbie? How the fuck should he know? It was hard enough to rescue himself from the avalanche of his own feelings, without allowing the gloomy St Bernard of his attention to wander into other fields.

The trouble with not being a psychopath. Every avenue was blocked.

She always said, 'I know you like this,' which was a lie, because he had told her he didn't the last time.

Our goal is to love people more than need them. We are overflowing pitchers, not leaky cups.

Love breaks the hold of individualism; it builds new communities out of the ashes of broken and fragmented relationships.

You don't really know who you are until you have gone through suffering.

People familiar with shame are willing to wash feet, but they are uncomfortable with other people washing their feet. They are better at serving than being served. Well, get used to being served.

All it takes is a tradition of demeaning, critical words from the right person. All it takes is nothing from the right person. No interest in you, no words spoken to you, no love. If you are treated as if you do not exist, you will feel shame.

What is shame? God identifies it. God experienced it. You are not alone.

The visitor (what Scripture calls the "foreigner" or "alien") comes first. The visitor who returns comes next. The less popular, the introverts, the marginalized, or those sitting alone come next. Then come the children. Jesus singles them out as examples of the marginalized. "Hi, _______" is offered to as many people as possible, which doesn't have to be accompanied by a hug or a handshake.

Side by side is most suitable for helping. We

Anger takes everything personally, as if everything is an intentional act to make your life miserable.