Quotes about Empathy

Our need to give is every bit as desperate as the poor's need to receive.

King clung to nonviolence because he profoundly believed that only a movement based on love could keep the oppressed from becoming a mirror image of their oppressors. He wanted to change the hearts of the white people, yes, but in a way that did not in the process harden the hearts of the blacks he was leading toward freedom. Nonviolence, he believed, 'will save the Negro from seeking to substitute one tyranny for another.

involvement with others was the most effective in quelling her pain.

the same answer from suffering people: it matters little what we say — our concern and availability matter far more.

Lewis Smedes points out, "The first and often the only person to be healed by forgiveness is the person who does the forgiveness. . . . When we genuinely forgive, we set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner we set free was us.

the same answer from suffering people: it matters little what we say — our concern and availability matter far more. If we can offer a listening ear, that may be the most appreciated gift of all.

Dr. Brand said, in a comment that has always stayed with me, "A healthy body attends to the pain of the weakest part.

Pain allows us, the fortunate ones at least, to lead free and active lives. If you ever doubt that, visit a leprosarium and observe for yourself a world without pain.

As Christ's body on earth we are compelled to move, as he did, toward those who hurt. That has been God's consistent movement in all history.

by embracing grief and standing beside the hurting person, we can indeed aid another's search for meaning.

the down-and-out, who flocked to Jesus when he lived on earth, no longer feel welcome among his followers. What has happened?

Perhaps the greatest way to give suffering people time is being patient with them — giving them room to doubt, cry, question and work out strong and often extreme emotions.