Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other. It is a sign that we don't need a lot of money to be happy--in fact, the opposite.
Jean VanierRead
Each human being, however small or weak, has something to bring to humanity. As we start to really get to know others, as we begin to listen to each other's stories, things begin to change. We begin the movement from exclusion to inclusion, from fear to trust, from closedness to openness, from judgment and prejudice to forgiveness and understanding. It is a movement of the heart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Every person has their own unique value and potential for contribution, and understanding others fosters connection and change.
Jean Vanier emphasizes the importance of recognizing the intrinsic value of every individual, regardless of their perceived strength or stature. By actively listening to and understanding the stories of others, we can foster a shift from exclusion and fear to inclusion and trust. This process not only nurtures personal connections but also inspires a broader societal change characterized by forgiveness and understanding, highlighting that true transformation begins with compassion and openness.
Themes
InclusionUnderstandingTrustCompassionRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a community gathering to promote inclusivity.
More from Jean Vanier
All quotes →One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we can welcome many people, even those in deep distress, and perhaps help them find self-confidence and inner healing.
Jean VanierRead
We all know well that we can do things for others and in the process crush them, making them feel that they are incapable of doing things by themselves. To love someone is to reveal to them their capacities for life, the light that is shining in them.
Jean VanierRead
True peace can rarely be imposed from the outside; it must be born within and between communities through meetings and dialogue and then carried outward.
Jean VanierRead
In any case, community is not about perfect people. It is about people who are bonded to each other, each of whom is a mixture of good and bad, darkness and light, love and hate.
Jean VanierRead
We have to remind ourselves constantly that we are not saviours. We are simply a tiny sign, among thousands of others, that love is possible, that the world is not condemned to a struggle between oppressors and oppressed, that class and racial warfare is not inevitable.
Jean VanierRead
Similar quotes
I’m not like the rest of you; I never made any plans about what I’d do when I grew up; I never thought of being married, as you did. I couldn’t seem to imagine myself anything but stupid little Beth, trotting about at home, of no use anywhere but there. I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is leaving you all. I’m not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.
Louisa May AlcottRead
I want to appreciate you without judging. Join you without invading. Invite you without demanding. Leave you without guilt.
Virginia SatirRead
I overheard people saying, 'She thinks she's so great because she's Debbie Reynolds' daughter!' And I didn't like it; it made me different from other people, and I wanted to be the same.
Carrie FisherRead
I remembered the pain as clearly as if I were shifting — the pain of loss. I felt the agony of the single moment that I lost myself. Lost what made me Sam. The part of me that could remember Grace's name.
Maggie StiefvaterRead
We seldom find people ungrateful so long as it is thought we can serve them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
If you do something for someone else, never remember. If someone does something for you, never forget.
Dale CarnegieRead