“Tenderness is spontaneous and disinterested; it goes far beyond empathetic fellow feeling. Instead it is the conscious, though perhaps slightly melancholy, common sharing of fate. Tenderness is deep emotional concern about another being, its fragility, its unique nature, and its lack of immunity to suffering and the effects of time. Tenderness perceives the bonds that connect us, the similarities and sameness between us. It is a way of looking that shows the world as being alive, living, interconnected, cooperating with, and codependent on itself.
Literature is built on tenderness toward any being other than ourselves. It is the basic psychological mechanism of the novel. Thanks to this miraculous tool, the most sophisticated means of human communication, our experience can travel through time, reaching those who have not yet been born, but who will one day turn to what we have written, the stories we told about ourselves and our world.”
“Every parent does their best with the information they have. When we know better, we do better — for our kids and for ourselves.”
Source: Why Won't You Listen?: The Science of What Kids Really Hear When You Speak (THEY'RE NOT DEFYING YOU)
“Can we not convict and yet mitigate the penalty?”
Source: Billy Budd and Other Tales
“When I became intimate with my wounding, I learned to validate the parts of me that were waiting for my attention.”
Source: Awaken Your Roots: Reclaim Your Ancestry and Sovereignty by Heeding the Jaguar’s Call
“Slowly he uncovered his face; and the effect was as if the moon emerging from eclipse should reappear with quite another aspect than that which had gone into hiding. The father in him, manifested toward Billy thus far in the scene, was replaced by the military disciplinarian.”
Source: Billy Budd and Other Tales
“In this one-way journey called life, may we only carry the luggage of compassion and love, striving always to be good and kind.”
“News told, rumors heard, truth implied, facts buried.”
Source: My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut
“Everyone deserves a space to feel loved, rested, and a little wild.”
Source: a three body solution: A Daringly Subversive & Juicy Tale of Love, Evolution, & Humanity's Last Hope
“Stefan Zweig writes: “The excess of suffering murders not only men; it kills off the power of compassion.”
Source: How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend: A Neuroscientist's Guide to a Healthier, Happier Life
“Comment pouvais-je arranger les choses? Que faire pour qu’un homme, qui avait voué toute son existence à défendre les autres, accepte l’idée que lui même méritait qu’on se batte pour lui alors que tant de choses dans sa vie disaient le contraire? p406”
Source: Southern Storms