Quotes about Empathy

Most times we're so focused on what we think we want that we can't appreciate how happy we already are. It's only when we forget about our problems and help others forget theirs that we realize how good we really have it.

I was still searching for someone to blame for my suffering. I really wanted someone to transfer my hate to, so that I could stop hating myself.

I said, "Mom…" "Yes?" "Thank you for all you do for me. For how much you work and change your schedule to be with me." "How did you know I did that?" "I just don't say thank you enough." She looked at me and her eyes filled. "Do you know why I do it, Eddie?" "Why?" "Because you're my greatest joy, Eddie. You're my joy.

I believed that was the point of real forgiveness: It was freely given. Grace-filled. Unsolicited.

Someone once told me that everyone deserved to be loved. Even the unlovable? Maybe especially them.

A writer's greatest reward is naming something unnamed that many people are feeling. A writer's greatest punishment is being misunderstood. The same words can do both.

As always, self-esteem had created an ability to be generous.

The ultimate in parallel thinking is the Golden Rule—providing it is read both ways. The traditional sequence assumes a healthy self-esteem and asks for empathy: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." But for many people whose self-esteem has been suppressed, the revolution lies in reversing it: Do unto yourself as you would do unto others.

People before paper; stories before statistics.

Learning to accept and even love difference, as she pointed out, is important for the future of the human race. There is great comfort in realizing that differences within a family have an important purpose.

The older I get, the more intensely I feel about the world around me.

Love is wanting what's best for the other person. Romance is wanting the other person.