“A joke that requires an apology wasn't a joke; it was a mistake masquerading as wit”
Source: The Frictionless Life: 25 Essays on Character, Virtue, and the Art of Being Unshakable: Stop Chasing the Hustle. Start Building a Soul.
“When we read fiction and memoir, we participate in the lives of others, in their sufferings, ecstasies, yearnings, and struggles, in all the ways their lives are shattered and put back together. We are able to see the world through their eyes and feel with their hearts.”
Source: Writing Creativity and Soul
“If we have the choice to feed only one hungry person, the needy or the richest, our society often chooses the path of empathy instead of the clear light of morality.”
“And there was yet another difference between them. This one only visible to those who watched them keenly, studied the two boys over many moments and over many moons. But of course, no one could do that. Older Brother and Younger Brother were the only two people on earth. The difference was this: The older brother loved all thing, but the younger brother loved only himself. You would think such a thing would be readily apparent in a person, even obvious, but no, it isn't. Such a thing is often opaque and easily masked. And could take a lifetime to see, whether we love ourselves only or everything equally.”
Source: Indian Country
“Her heart hammered, her head pounded. Part of her felt like maybe she could outrun it – the monster that stole her mother. She ran, the thumping of her feet her only anchor. She thought she
might rise up and explode, like a big greasy soap bubble.
If only I could.”
Source: Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For
“It is better to do what you can, than to try to do what you can’t.”
Source: A Rare and Dangerous Beast
“Empathy isn't magic. It's mimicry. Observation is the root of human connection.”
Source: The Observation Effect: See What 99% of People Miss and Reshape Your Reality
“I feel like I’m a disappointment to mankind,” he remarked woefully as he placed the shirt through my arms and began to pull it down over my breasts. “Someone this gorgeous should be on display in a museum.”
Source: Into the Hollow
“Real communication occurs, and this evaluative tendency is avoided, when we listen with understanding. What does this mean? It means to see the expressed idea and attitude from the other person’s point of view, to sense how it feels to him, to achieve his frame of reference in regard to the thing he is talking about.
Stated so briefly, this may sound absurdly simple, but it is not.”
“Strizza, non timore o altro sentimento più nobile, strizza ‒ mi caco sotto. (Abbondantemente, a fiotti, e non è un buon segno.) La tragedia suscita compassione, la tremarella soltanto il riso.”
Source: Scuola di nudo