The
words "sympathy," "empathy," and "compassion" are
often used interchangeably, but each has a distinct meaning. Sympathy is
feeling sorry that someone is going through a hard time, or sending a card to
show them they’re in our thoughts.
Empathy
takes us a step closer to our fellow humans by allowing us to understand and
share in their emotions: to flinch at a skinned knee or sniffle at a
sentimental commercial.
Compassion,
meanwhile, is that sense of shared experience coupled with the desire to do
something to help alleviate the pain. Compassion doesn’t just flinch at a
child’s skinned knee; it rushes to find a SpongeBob Squarepants Band-Aid.
Taking
action to help others is the heart of compassion, and if you keep an eye out,
you’ll find plenty of ways to offer kindness to those around you. Hold the door
for someone. Surrender the last jar of pickles at the grocery store. Lend an
ear to someone who needs to talk. These discrete acts of kindness can change a
person’s whole day — which can, in turn, inspire them to be a little kinder to
those around them.
Compassion
not only makes us happier as individuals, but also has a tendency to get passed
along, making the world just a little bit brighter for all of us who live here.
If
you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy,
practice compassion.
— Dalai Lama
You
cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too
late. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
My
mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some
passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. — Maya Angelou
Kindness
in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness
in giving creates love. — Lao
Tzu
Having
compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts
of ourselves.
—
Pema Chödrön
Our
task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to
embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. — Albert Einstein
I’ve
been searching for ways to heal myself, and I’ve found that kindness is the
best way. — Lady Gaga
Practice
kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you’re already in heaven
now. — Jack Kerouac
All
I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries.
― Kathryn Stockett,
author of “The Help”
A
kind and compassionate act is often its own reward.
—
William John Bennett
I
prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness. ― Mother Teresa
Kindness
is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will
wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the
complexion of courtesy has faded away.
— Abraham Lincoln
The
simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing
in prayer.
― Mahatma Gandhi
Sometimes
it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life. — Jackie Chan
Compassion
is about giving all the love that you’ve got.
— Cheryl Strayed
Do
your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put
together that overwhelm the world.
— Desmond Tutu
Kindness
is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.
— Paramahansa
Yogananda, Hindu monk
Kindness,
I’ve discovered, is everything in life.
― Isaac Bashevis Singer,
writer and Nobel laureate
If
you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours. —
Dolly Parton
In
compassion, when we feel with the other, we dethrone ourselves from the center
of our world and we put another person there. — Karen Armstrong, author
Kindness
begins with the understanding that we all struggle. — Charles Glassman,
author
Sometimes
it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life. — Jackie Chan
The
highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human
compassion.
—
Richard Feynman, physicist
Carry
out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the
knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you. — Princess Diana
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