#empathy

It can be very dangerous to see things from somebody else's point of view without the proper training. ↗

— Douglas Adams

#novel

Most of us care about one another. Human beings have considerably more in common with one another than they do differences. One’s religion, political persuasion, family, financial and social status, or vocation does not hamper the common thread of personal decency running through most of humankind. ↗

— Jon M. Huntsman Sr.

#empathy #ethics #family

All human beings have their otherness and it is that which cries out to the heart. ↗

— Elizabeth Goudge

#love #uniqueness #love

One reason we rush so quickly to the vulgar satisfactions of judgment, and love to revel in our righteous outrage, is that it spares us from the impotent pain of empathy, and the harder, messier work of understanding. ↗

— Tim Kreider

#judgment #understanding #love

When anesthesia was developed, it was for many decades routinely withheld from women giving birth, since women were "supposed" to suffer. One of the few societies to take a contrary view was the Huichol tribe in Mexico. The Huichol believed that the pain of childbirth should be shared, so the mother would hold on to a string tied to her husband's testicles. With each painful contraction, she would give the string a yank so that the man could share the burden. Surely if such a mechanism were more widespread, injuries in childbirth would garner more attention. ↗

— Nicholas D. Kristof

#empathy #women #women-s-rights #oppression

There is no small act of kindness. Every compassionate act makes large the world. ↗

— Mary Anne Radmacher

#empathy #kindness #empathy

Be me a little. ↗

— John Ajvide Lindqvist

#love #love

He said that he was sure you would be amendable to this course of action." April paused, eyes widening, before she said indignantly, "I believe he may have lied to me! ↗

— Seanan McGuire

#humor #lies #humor

As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action taken by another: "What is his point of reference here?" But begin with yourself: examine yourself first. ↗

— Marcus Aurelius

#frame-of-reference #questioning #self-actualization #empathy

To embrace suffering culminates in greater empathy, the capacity to feel what it is like for the other to suffer, which is the ground for unsentimental compassion and love. (157) ↗

— Stephen Batchelor

#empathy #love #suffering #love