The life you have led doesn't need to be the only life you have.
Anna QuindlenRead
I got a fortune cookie that said, "To remember is to understand." I have never forgotten it. A good judge remembers what it was like to be a lawyer. A good editor remembers being a writer. A good parent remembers what it was like to be a child.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Remembering past experiences helps foster empathy and understanding.
This quote emphasizes the importance of memory in understanding and empathy. It suggests that possessing the ability to recall one’s past experiences enables individuals in various roles, such as judges, editors, and parents, to better relate to and support others in similar situations. This understanding is crucial for effective judgment and compassion.
Themes
MemoryUnderstandingEmpathyExperienceJudgment
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about empathy in leadership.
More from Anna Quindlen
All quotes →The future is built on brains, not prom court, as most people can tell you after attending their high school reunion. But you'd never know it by talking to kids or listening to the messages they get from the culture and even from their schools.
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I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me.
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Ideas are only lethal if you suppress and don't discuss them. Ignorance is not bliss, it's stupid. Banning books shows you don't trust your kids to think and you don't trust yourself to be able to talk to them.
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I conveniently forgot to remember that people only have two hands, or, as another parent once said of having a third child, it's time for a zone defense instead of man-to-man.
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