Cultivate Empathy for All Others

If everyone howled at every injustice,
every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness,
then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity.
- Nelson DeMille

There is no neutrality.
There is only greater or lesser
awareness of one's bias.
- Phyllis Rose

Do not judge another person
until you have walked a mile
in their moccasins.
- Native American (various wordings)

It is not our differences that divide us.
It is our inability to recognize, accept,
and celebrate those differences.
- Audre Lorde

In the century following Columbus' arrival in the Americas, 95% of the 70 million Native Americans were either killed by Europeans, or died from diseases brought by the Europeans.

Further reading: Your Point of View

Through the Eyes of Another

Why I Choose to Believe that Others are Never the Cause of My Unhappiness

Byron Katie - The Work - No one can give you freedom but you
       

Be Happy When Others Succeed

Appreciation is a wonderful thing.
It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
- Voltaire

The more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater is our own sense of well-being.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life
comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Sadly, it is human nature to measure success by comparison with our neighbors.
A consequence of this tendency is the instinct to wish for others to fail
and our own status to therefore appear higher by comparison.

Strive to cheer whenever others succeed
and to avoid viewing your own achievements in comparison to others.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Eight Rules for Living Your Greatest Life

Empathy

Light for Others

Disappointment

The Art of Listening

Offer Comfort
      

It takes no courage to defend popular speech

I disapprove of what you say,
but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
- Unknown, but commonly attributed to Voltaire

To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains,
but to live in a way that respects
and enhances the freedom of others.
- Nelson Mandela

Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech.
Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.
- Neal Boortz

Without free speech, no search for truth is possible.
- Charles Bradlaugh

Support Freedom of Speech, Especially for Those You Dislike.
...
The whole point of Freedom-of-Speech
is supporting the right of others
to say things you find personally offensive.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
- Abraham Lincoln

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game.
Free speech is life itself.
- Salman Rushdie

It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we agree.
- Leo McKern

We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech.
- Boyle Roche (hopefully said satirically)

One of the surest ways to cause
yourself great suffering
is to insist upon being right -
to demand that all others view life
exactly as you view it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Independence - Liberty - Freedom

Point of View

Our Bond of Humanity
         

Make Life Less Difficult for Each Other

What do we live for, if it is not
to make life less difficult for each other?
- George Eliot

Generally, your greatest service to someone
in their time of trouble, sorrow, or confusion, is your comfort.
Take the time to listen to their troubles and concerns
with patience, kindness, and empathy,
but without offering unsolicited advice or suggestions.
Your kindly hand on their shoulder, supportive hug, and patient listening
are often the greatest gifts you can offer.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou

There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.
- Katharine Butler Hathaway

Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.
- Hippocrates

“Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have.”
- A. A. Milne

The best comfort I could offer
was to just let her tell her story.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Further reading: True Measure of a Successful Life

This is my wish for you...

Giving Love and Comfort

Encourage Others
      

Force Attracts Men of Low Morality

 

Money and success don’t change people;
they merely amplify what is already there.
- Will Smith

Nearly all men can stand adversity,
but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
- attributed to Abraham Lincoln

People do not seem to realize that
their opinion of the world
is also a confession of character.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Force always attracts men of low morality.
- Albert Einstein

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
- Lao Tzu

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment
and the other by acts of love. Power based on love
is a thousand times more effective and permanent
then the one derived from fear of punishment.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

You can easily judge the character of others
by how they treat those who can
do nothing for them or to them.
- Malcolm S. Forbes

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.
- John Wooden

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Further reading: Your Most Important Values

Who You Are

A Place for Honor

Do What You Know Is Right

Taking Action About Things That Matter
      

Practice Compassion

 

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
- Jesus (Matthew 25:40)

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
- Luke 6:31 (the "Golden Rule")

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded.
It's a relationship between equals.
Only when we know our own darkness well
can we be present with the darkness of others.
Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.
- Pema Chodron

Our opportunity is to visualize a kinder world.
To sing glad songs of tomorrow -
imagining a world of love -
of the whole world filled with love.
To offer our hand... often.
To breathe deeply and honor ourselves.
To pause and contemplate... just because.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

For me, an area of moral clarity is:
you're in front of someone who's suffering
and you have the tools at your disposal
to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it,
and you act.
- Paul Farmer

Further reading: Feed the Hungry

Comfort, Rainbows, and Laughter

Accept Others

Compassion, Kindness, Humility
      

Take time to understand, and to appreciate

It is an easy thing for one whose foot is on the outside
of calamity to give advice and to rebuke the sufferer.
- Aeschylus

Could a greater miracle take place
than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?
- Henry David Thoreau

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Philo

We are all different - and we are all one.
Take time to understand, and to appreciate.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Before you criticize anyone,
walk a mile in their shoes.
- Anonymous [gender-neutral update]

The more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater is our own sense of well-being.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Understanding is a two-way street.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

We will never have true civilization until we have
learned to recognize the rights of others.
- Will Rogers

When the rights of any group, no matter how small, no matter how marginal,
are violated, your liberty, your freedom is put at risk.
Let there never be a day when we cast about in horror
and have to ask the question, "How did it ever come to this?"
- Thomas Childers

Further reading: The Art of Listening

Opportunity for Kindness

Of all the keys to happiness, Service to Others is the big one

Open Your Mind
      

No kindness is too small to be important

 

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
- Colossians 3:12

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures
is not to hate them,
but to be indifferent to them:
that's the essence of inhumanity.
- George Bernard Shaw

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Compassion is the basis of morality.
- Arthur Schopenhauer

It is my choice to care deeply about others.
No kindness is too small to be important -
the smile to the bank teller,
the sincere "thank you" for all kindnesses received,
the reassuring hand on the shoulder of a loved one or friend.
There is compassion in selfless generosity,
but there is also compassion in heartfelt empathy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: What Does Compassion Look Like?

Full Measure of a Person

Feed the Children

Be of Service

Take Charge of Your Life - 9 Secrets for Getting Un-Stuck
       

Choose Empathy, Choose Kindness

 

If everyone howled at every injustice,
every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness,
then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity.

- Nelson DeMille

There is no neutrality.

There is only greater or lesser
awareness of one's bias.
- Phyllis Rose

Do not judge another person
until you have walked a mile
in their moccasins.
- Native American (various wordings)

It is not our differences that divide us.
It is our inability to recognize, accept,
and celebrate those differences.
- Audre Lorde

In the century following Columbus' arrival in the Americas, 95% of the 70 million Native Americans were either killed by Europeans, or died from diseases brought by the Europeans.

Further reading: Your Point of View

Through the Eyes of Another

Why I Choose to Believe that Others are Never the Cause of My Unhappiness

Byron Katie - The Work - No one can give you freedom but you
       

Appreciate Excellence in Others

Appreciation is a wonderful thing.
It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
- Voltaire

The more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater is our own sense of well-being.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life
comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Sadly, it is human nature to measure success by comparison with our neighbors.
A consequence of this tendency is the instinct to wish for others to fail
and our own status to therefore appear higher by comparison.

Strive to cheer whenever others succeed
and to avoid viewing your own achievements in comparison to others.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Eight Rules for Living Your Greatest Life

Empathy

Light for Others

Disappointment

The Art of Listening

Offer Comfort
      

Freedom of Speech is meant to protect UNPOPULAR speech

 

I disapprove of what you say,
but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
- Unknown, but commonly attributed to Voltaire

To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains,
but to live in a way that respects
and enhances the freedom of others.
- Nelson Mandela

Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech.
Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.
- Neal Boortz

Without free speech, no search for truth is possible.
- Charles Bradlaugh

Support Freedom of Speech, Especially for Those You Dislike.
...
The whole point of Freedom-of-Speech
is supporting the right of others
to say things you find personally offensive.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
- Abraham Lincoln

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game.
Free speech is life itself.
- Salman Rushdie

It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we agree.
- Leo McKern

We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech.
- Boyle Roche (hopefully said satirically)

One of the surest ways to cause
yourself great suffering
is to insist upon being right -
to demand that all others view life
exactly as you view it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Independence - Liberty - Freedom

Point of View

Our Bond of Humanity
         

Support Each Other

 

What do we live for, if it is not
to make life less difficult for each other?
- George Eliot

Generally, your greatest service to someone
in their time of trouble, sorrow, or confusion, is your comfort.
Take the time to listen to their troubles and concerns
with patience, kindness, and empathy,
but without offering unsolicited advice or suggestions.
Your kindly hand on their shoulder, supportive hug, and patient listening
are often the greatest gifts you can offer.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou

There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.
- Katharine Butler Hathaway

Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.
- Hippocrates

“Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have.”
- A. A. Milne

The best comfort I could offer
was to just let her tell her story.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Further reading: True Measure of a Successful Life

This is my wish for you...

Giving Love and Comfort

Encourage Others
      

Force always attracts men of low morality

 

Money and success don’t change people;
they merely amplify what is already there.
- Will Smith

Nearly all men can stand adversity,
but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
- attributed to Abraham Lincoln

People do not seem to realize that
their opinion of the world
is also a confession of character.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Force always attracts men of low morality.
- Albert Einstein

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
- Lao Tzu

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment
and the other by acts of love. Power based on love
is a thousand times more effective and permanent
then the one derived from fear of punishment.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

You can easily judge the character of others
by how they treat those who can
do nothing for them or to them.
- Malcolm S. Forbes

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.
- John Wooden

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Further reading: Your Most Important Values

Who You Are

A Place for Honor

Do What You Know Is Right

Taking Action About Things That Matter
      

Visualize a Kinder World

 

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
- Jesus (Matthew 25:40)

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
- Luke 6:31 (the "Golden Rule")

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded.
It's a relationship between equals.
Only when we know our own darkness well
can we be present with the darkness of others.
Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.
- Pema Chodron

Our opportunity is to visualize a kinder world.
To sing glad songs of tomorrow -
imagining a world of love -
of the whole world filled with love.
To offer our hand... often.
To breathe deeply and honor ourselves.
To pause and contemplate... just because.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

For me, an area of moral clarity is:
you're in front of someone who's suffering
and you have the tools at your disposal
to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it,
and you act.
- Paul Farmer

Further reading: Feed the Hungry

Comfort, Rainbows, and Laughter

Accept Others

Compassion, Kindness, Humility
      

Understanding is a Two-Way Street

 

It is an easy thing for one whose foot is on the outside
of calamity to give advice and to rebuke the sufferer.
- Aeschylus

Could a greater miracle take place
than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?
- Henry David Thoreau

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Philo

We are all different - and we are all one.
Take time to understand, and to appreciate.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Before you criticize anyone,
walk a mile in their shoes.
- Anonymous [gender-neutral update]

The more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater is our own sense of well-being.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Understanding is a two-way street.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

We will never have true civilization until we have
learned to recognize the rights of others.
- Will Rogers

When the rights of any group, no matter how small, no matter how marginal,
are violated, your liberty, your freedom is put at risk.
Let there never be a day when we cast about in horror
and have to ask the question, "How did it ever come to this?"
- Thomas Childers

Further reading: The Art of Listening

Opportunity for Kindness

Of all the keys to happiness, Service to Others is the big one

Open Your Mind
      

Practice Empathy

 

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
- Colossians 3:12

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures
is not to hate them,
but to be indifferent to them:
that's the essence of inhumanity.
- George Bernard Shaw

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Compassion is the basis of morality.
- Arthur Schopenhauer

It is my choice to care deeply about others.
No kindness is too small to be important -
the smile to the bank teller,
the sincere "thank you" for all kindnesses received,
the reassuring hand on the shoulder of a loved one or friend.
There is compassion in selfless generosity,
but there is also compassion in heartfelt empathy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: What Does Compassion Look Like?

Full Measure of a Person

Feed the Children

Be of Service

Take Charge of Your Life - 9 Secrets for Getting Un-Stuck
       

Seek to be Empathetic with All Those Experiencing Injustice

 

If everyone howled at every injustice,
every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness,
then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity.

- Nelson DeMille

There is no neutrality.

There is only greater or lesser
awareness of one's bias.
- Phyllis Rose

Do not judge another person
until you have walked a mile
in their moccasins.
- Native American (various wordings)

It is not our differences that divide us.
It is our inability to recognize, accept,
and celebrate those differences.
- Audre Lorde

In the century following Columbus' arrival in the Americas, 95% of the 70 million Native Americans were either killed by Europeans, or died from diseases brought by the Europeans.

Further reading: Your Point of View

Through the Eyes of Another

Why I Choose to Believe that Others are Never the Cause of My Unhappiness

Byron Katie - The Work - No one can give you freedom but you
       

Strive to cheer whenever others succeed

 

Appreciation is a wonderful thing.
It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
- Voltaire

The more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater is our own sense of well-being.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Sadly, it is human nature to measure success by comparison with our neighbors.
A consequence of this tendency is the instinct to wish for others to fail
and our own status to therefore appear higher by comparison.
Strive to cheer whenever others succeed
and to avoid viewing your own achievements in comparison to others.

 - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Eight Rules for Living Your Greatest Life

Empathy

Light for Others

Disappointment

The Art of Listening

Offer Comfort
      

Freedom of Speech

 

I disapprove of what you say,
but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
- Unknown, but commonly attributed to Voltaire

To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains,
but to live in a way that respects
and enhances the freedom of others.
- Nelson Mandela

Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech.
Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.
- Neal Boortz

Without free speech, no search for truth is possible.
- Charles Bradlaugh

Support Freedom of Speech, Especially for Those You Dislike.
...
The whole point of Freedom-of-Speech
is supporting the right of others
to say things you find personally offensive.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
- Abraham Lincoln

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game.
Free speech is life itself.
- Salman Rushdie

It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we agree.
- Leo McKern

We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech.
- Boyle Roche (hopefully said satirically)

One of the surest ways to cause
yourself great suffering
is to insist upon being right -
to demand that all others view life
exactly as you view it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Independence - Liberty - Freedom

Point of View

Our Bond of Humanity
         

Offer Comfort and Encouragement

 

What do we live for, if it is not
to make life less difficult for each other?
- George Eliot

Generally, your greatest service to someone
in their time of trouble, sorrow, or confusion, is your comfort.
Take the time to listen to their troubles and concerns
with patience, kindness, and empathy,
but without offering unsolicited advice or suggestions.
Your kindly hand on their shoulder, supportive hug, and patient listening
are often the greatest gifts you can offer.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou

There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.
- Katharine Butler Hathaway

Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.
- Hippocrates

“Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have.”
- A. A. Milne

The best comfort I could offer
was to just let her tell her story.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Further reading: True Measure of a Successful Life

This is my wish for you...

Giving Love and Comfort

Encourage Others