Empathy has the power to bring together people who would otherwise never meet. It has the power to teach us and to reach us in moments of isolation when we think nobody understands.
Interpretation
Empathy connects people and fosters understanding, especially in lonely times.
This quote emphasizes the transformative power of empathy in bridging the gaps between individuals who may not usually intersect in their lives. It highlights how empathy not only facilitates connections among diverse people but also serves as a vital source of comfort and understanding during moments of solitude and despair, reminding us that we are not alone in our experiences.
In practice
In a speech about community building, one could say: 'Empathy has the power to bring together people who would otherwise never meet.'
I think sometimes in the focus on deep friendships and on romantic relationships, we can lose sight of how important the small connections we make are with strangers and with people that we may encounter for just a few seconds or a few minutes, whether it's the barista at our coffee shop or the stranger next to us on the subway.
Without strong communities, we cannot pull together during times of hardship. Our diversity turns from a source of strength to a source of conflict.
One of the things that happens in our regular lives is that when we're in moments of pain or feeling alone, we may hesitate to reach out to others because we may think - they're not going through the same experiences I am.
There's a tremendous sense of shame that people who are lonely feel. I say that as someone who felt ashamed of being lonely as a child and even at points during adulthood.
Our health care workers are the heroes of the Covid-19 response.
What you quickly realize once you commit to getting more sleep is it can increase your productivity, it can improve your mood. And that doesn't just help you at work, but it helps you be the kind of person you want to be with your family and your friends and that's ultimately what matters most.
It's too easy to criticize a man when he's out of favour, and to make him shoulder the blame for everybody else's mistakes.
If we fail to give our time with those we love, one day we will live to regret it.
As it happened, I didn't grow up to be the kind of woman who is the heroine in a Western, and although the men I have known have had many virtues and have taken me to live in many places I have come to love, they have never been John Wayne, and they have never taken me to the bend in the river where the cottonwoods grow. Deep in that part of my heart where artificial rain forever falls, that is still the line I want to hear.
Why do we feel jealousy? Therapists often regard the demon as a scar of childhood trauma or a symptom of a psychological problem. And it's true that people who feel inadequate, insecure, or overly dependent tend to be more jealous than others.
The most important thing is to have a good relationship with the bike... you have to understand what she wants. I think of a motorcycle as a woman, and I know that sounds silly, but it's true.
To admonish your brother in private is to advise him and improve him. But to admonish him publicly is to disgrace and shame him.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.