Quotes About Empathy

Talk is what we have, what makes us distinctive. Talk to us is what webs are to a spider, or speed to a gazelle.' 'Talk is how we bring what's inside our minds into the outside world,' Albie said. 'Animals have feelings and thoughts. Animals have always had feelings and thoughts – it's just that only now have they been able to bring them out.

Racism is hateful bullying, and a means of reinforcing self-identity at the expense of others:

Americans are blessed with great plenty we are a generous people and we have a moral obligation to assist those who are suffering from poverty, disease, war and famine.

Not that anyone minds--no one's paying attention to the music. Most of them never really listen to music. Practically no one actually does. Even at concerts people pay good money for, instead of a three-dollar cover charge, they talk through the whole thing. I feel sorry for them, since none of them understand what it's like to have a song just get into your soul and become your whole world. They don't know what it's like when a song changes your life.

Though our brother is upon the rack, as long as we ourselves are at ease, our senses will never inform us of what he suffers. They never did and never can carry us beyond our own persons, and it is by the imagination only that we form any conception of what are his sensations...His agonies, when they are thus brought home to ourselves, when we have this adopted and made them our own, begin at last to affect us, and we then tremble and shudder at the thought of what he feels.

I've been around many girls who have been super outgoing. And a lot of times, they would say to me, "Why are you so quiet? What's wrong with you?" And I'm like, "I don't know. That's just the way I am." So if I found the perfect girl she would totally get that and say, "You're quiet, and that's the way I love you.

Fish held the silence for so long that I had to restrain myself from prodding her. That's never a good idea. Sometimes people hesitate because they don't have the courage to come out with whatever needs to be said; other times they desperately want to speak but can't find the words. Jabbing them prematurely tends to shut them up. Outwaiting them gives them the time to say more than they intend.

Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate.

Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community.

Sin embargo, escuchaba con gusto al ingenioso conversador, que distraía mi atención de mis sufrimientos, y de buena gana hubiera intimado con él si se hubiese dirigido a mi alma tanto como a mi razón.

33When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. 34The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt:

You'll never go wrong if you describe what you think the child might be feeling ('You must be so proud of yourself!') or what the child has accomplished ('A lot of practice and perseverance went into winning that medal').

When we acknowledge a child's feelings, we do him a great service. We put him in touch with his inner reality. And once he's clear about that reality, he gathers the strength to begin to cope.

The time for empathy is when a child wants you to know how he feels.

One father said that what helped him become more sensitive to his son's emotional needs was when he began to equate the boy's bruised, unhappy feelings with physical bruises.

Describa: (lo que ve o el problema.) 2. Dé información: 3. Dígalo con una palabra: 4. Hable de sus sentimientos: 5. Escriba una nota: Acaba de aplicar cinco habilidades diferentes a la misma situación.

The group beamed and applauded. It was a lot to absorb. I thought I'd better summarize. "So when it comes to homework," I said, "here are your new strategies." 1. Be on your child's side. Acknowledge his feelings! 2. Problem-solve. Consider everything. 3. Be your child's advocate. Communicate with the teacher when homework gets overwhelming. Don't worry about what other people's kids are doing.

Statements like these say to the child, "I don't like what you did, and I expect you to take care of it." We hope that later on in life, as an adult, when he does something he regrets, he'll think to himself, "What can I do to make amends—to set things right again?," rather than "What I just did proves I'm an unworthy person who deserves to be punished.

The only thing that is necessary is that we take another look at the less favored child, seek out her specialness, then reflect the wonder of it back to her.

Children don't appreciate having the names they call themselves repeated by their parents. When a child tells you he's dumb or ugly or fat, it's not helpful to reply with "Oh, so you think you're dumb," or "You really feel you're ugly." Let's not cooperate with him when he calls himself names. We can accept his pain without repeating the name.

What people of all ages can use in a moment of distress is not agreement or disagreement; they need someone to recognize what it is they're experiencing.

And yet, it's our listening that can give the greatest comfort. It's our acceptance of their unhappy feelings that can make it easier for our kids to cope with them.

The best part of using descriptive language is that it takes out the finger-pointing and accusation, and helps everyone focus on what needs to be done.

7. Is there any way to help