Character Quotables: Empathy
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“Listening is about being present, not just about being quiet.”
“Anytime we can listen to our true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.”
“Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.”
“The word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent’.”
“Great things can be achieved by leading through wisdom, empathy, and integrity—with no other agenda than humanity.”
“When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you.”
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eye for an instant?”
“I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.”
“Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.”
“Listening is where love begins: listening to ourselves and then to our neighbors.”
“When you take care of yourself, you’re a better person for others. When you feel good about yourself, you treat others better.”
“Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus for creating change.”
“Listening is an art that requires attention over talent, spirit over ego, others over self.”
“I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.”
“Empathy grows as we learn.”
“One friend, one person who is truly understanding, who takes the trouble to listen to us as we consider a problem, can change our whole outlook on the world.”
“Empathy fuels connection.”
“Your education has been a failure no matter how much it has done for your mind, if it has failed to open your heart.”
“Empathy is like giving someone a psychological hug.”
“An exchange of empathy provides an entry point for a lot of people to see what healing feels like.”
“Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.”
“Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It’s the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.”
“The first duty of love is to listen.”
“You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.”
“Empathy may be the single most important quality that must be nurtured to give peace a fighting chance.”
“I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.”
“This capacity for empathy leads to a genuine encounter — we have to progress toward this culture of encounter — in which heart speaks to heart.”
“Empathy is a respectful understanding of what others are experiencing.”
“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?”
“The nature of humanity, its essence, is to feel another’s pain as one’s own, and to act to take that pain away. There is a nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.”
“True compassion means not only feeling another’s pain but also being moved to help relieve it.”
“There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.”
“The opposite of anger is not calmness. It’s empathy.”
“Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.”
“If speaking is silver, then listening is gold.”
“The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly.”
“Wherever there is a human in need, there is an opportunity for kindness and to make a difference.”
“We think we listen, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know.”
“Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”
“Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person… You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty their heart.”
“You don’t have to accept the invitation to get angry. Instead, practice forgiveness, empathy and encouragement.”
“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.”
“Yet, taught by time, my heart has learned to glow for other’s good, and melt at other’s woe”
“Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm, when we look at each other we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike.”
“Loss makes artists of us all as we weave new patterns in the fabric of our lives.”
“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.”
“Empathy is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘you are not alone’.”
“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.”
“Caring about the happiness of others, we find our own.”
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from his angle as well as your own.”
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.”
How can you use Quotes?
Start a discussion: Quotes can start a discussion about a character trait at the beginning of a meeting or the dinner table. You can ask questions about what it means, how they have seen the trait demonstrated in their own lives, or how they can develop it themselves.
Provide a model: Quotes can provide a model of good character. When you read a quote from a famous person or historical figure, you show that people they admire also value the same character traits.
Use quotes as writing/journal prompts: Ask them to write a short essay about a quote to help them think more deeply about its implications for their lives.
Post quotes: You can post quotes where they will be seen/heard often – classroom, breakroom, lobby, dining room, email signatures, video bulletin boards, morning announcements, social media, etc.
Read quotes aloud: You can read quotes aloud to your children during mealtimes, bedtime, or any other time you spend together.
Make it fun: You can make it even more fun by incorporating games, activities, or crafts. Let children decorate signs with the quotes to hang in the classroom or a bedroom door. Record children saying it and post it on social media.