Sadness is more or less like a head cold - with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.
Barbara KingsolverRead
you can't really know the person standing before you, because always there is some missing piece
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding others is complex, as everyone carries hidden aspects of themselves.
This quote emphasizes the idea that no matter how well we think we know someone, there are always facets of their personality or experiences that remain hidden to us. It suggests that each person has their own story, thoughts, and feelings that may not be visible or accessible, leading to an incomplete understanding of who they truly are.
Themes
UnderstandingRelationshipsPeopleHiddenComplexity
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about interpersonal relationships, one might say, 'As Barbara Kingsolver wisely noted, you can't really know the person standing before you, because always there is some missing piece.'
More from Barbara Kingsolver
All quotes βChildren can be your heartache. But that doesn't matter, you have to go on and have them . . . it works out.
Barbara KingsolverRead
I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.
Barbara KingsolverRead
I did it to win love, and to prove myself capable. Not to move mountains. In my opinions, mountains don't move. They only look changed when you look down on them from great height.
Barbara KingsolverRead
Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.
Barbara KingsolverRead
Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.
Barbara KingsolverRead
Similar quotes
So it is that we can seldom help anybody. Either we don't know what part to give or maybe we don't like to give any part of ourselves. Then, more often than not, the part that is needed is not wanted. And even more often, we do not have the part that is needed.
Norman MacleanRead
HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug: Heaven knows they need it.
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Be kind to one another. Bye, bye.
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If thou art willing to suffer no adversity, how wilt thou be the friend of Christ?
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Young men need to show women the respect they deserve and recognize sexual assault and to do their part to stop it.
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I do my best to please everybody, far more than they'd ever guess. I try to laugh it all off, because I don't want to let them see my trouble.
Anne FrankRead