Best Empathy Quotes to Inspire, Uplift & Motivate You Every Day

“Relatedness is vital in a time when so many people suffer from social deafness. Emotional insensitivity being caused by a redoubtable “tin ear” makes it impossible to hear any signs of empathy or capture the vibrant qualities of ‘sharing’. ("Only needed a light ")”

“When in Reading Gaol he told me that the warders in the dock had been gentle and kind, but the visit of the chaplain in his first prison began with these words:”

“I call him religious who understands the suffering of others.”

“In this age of creeping dehumanization, I’ve become obsessed with social skills: how to get better at treating people with consideration; how to get better at understanding the people right around us. I’ve come to believe that the quality of our lives and the health of our society depends, to a large degree, on how well we treat each other in the minute interactions of daily life.”

“Our social skills are currently inadequate to the pluralistic societies we are living in. In my job as a journalist, I often find myself interviewing people who tell me they feel invisible and disrespected: Black people feeling that the systemic inequities that affect their daily experiences are not understood by whites, rural people feeling they are not seen by coastal elites, people across political divides staring at each other with angry incomprehension, depressed young people feeling misunderstood by their parents and everyone else, privileged people blithely unaware of all the people around them cleaning their houses and serving their needs, husbands and wives in broken marriages who realize that the person who should know them best actually has no clue. Many of our big national problems arise from the fraying of our social fabric. If we want to begin repairing the big national ruptures, we have to learn to do the small things well.”

“I want to see people deeply, one by one. You'd think this would be kind of easy. You open your eyes, direct your gaze, and see them. But most of us have all sorts of inborn proclivities that prevent us from perceiving others accurately.”

“By making an effort to understand people’s actions and beliefs, you may come to realize that your viewpoint is just a drop of all the perspectives. This may help you see through your personal biases and self-centeredness, and you may even strengthen your rapport with others and become people-savvy.”

“Love thrives not in perfection, but in acceptance. It grows when we recognise the beauty in imperfections and embrace them with compassion. Relationships are strengthened when empathy replaces judgement, and connection becomes the foundation of every bond.”

“Emotional intelligence is as crucial as intellect. Understanding your own feelings and empathizing with others fosters stronger relationships, better leadership, and more meaningful connections. Self-awareness turns challenges into opportunities for growth.”

“Respect isn’t demanded; it’s earned through listening, understanding, and standing with others—even when it’s hard.”

“Compassion is an action, not just a feeling. Small gestures of kindness and understanding can have profound impacts. Empathy strengthens communities and fosters trust among individuals.”

“Empathy is the quiet art of stepping into another’s world — not to fix, but to understand and share their heartbeat.”

“A moment of real connection can unlearn years of separation.”

“Compassion has a time and place. Excessive empathy eradicates common sense and removes accountability.”

“Like all living things, relationships thrive when nourished.”

“You haven't won an argument if you've lost the person; the loudest voice in the room is usually the weakest mind.”

“Humans don’t heal alone. Not sustainably. Not fully.”

“A great date isn’t about perfection; it’s about showing up as yourself and creating a space for genuine connection.”

“Other people’s reactions usually say more about their own inner weather report than they do about the magnificent (albeit occasionally messy) renovations happening in your Inner Springfield.”

“Complicity is not just about sharing moments of success, but also about acknowledging mistakes together and learning from them.”

“The connection that brings us closer to others is the same that can distance us from ourselves...”

“The crisis enters the political scene like the glove that fits on a mime's hand, who, without color and without sound, creates drama and laughter at a traffic light.”

“All men are born firstly with the instinct to protect themselves. But few grow to really love themselves, and even fewer learn to love their neighbor as themselves.”

“Sometimes we just need someone to”

“In every crowd there are Diminishers and there are Illuminators. Diminishers make people feel small and unseen. They see other people as things to be used, not as persons to be befriended. They stereotype and ignore. They are so involved with themselves that other people are just not on their radar screen.”

“The people meant for you will feel like rest, not effort. What you carry quietly is often the map someone else needs to find their way.”

“Listening is more than hearing sounds; it is the act of giving full attention to another being or to a moment. It involves suspending our own narrative long enough to truly receive what is offered. ... It is surprising how often we listen with the intent to respond rather than the intent to understand. We mentally prepare our reply while the other person is still speaking”

“Kindness and helping others are good things. The world does not move forward without people who care, support, and step in when someone needs help. We all value kindness and speak highly of it. Yet when we ask for help ourselves and hear a refusal, disappointment often follows. Not always because the help was critical, but because we expected a ‘yes’.”

“Some days it seems like we have intentionally built a society that gives people little guidance on how to perform the most important activities of life. As a result, a lot of us are lonely and lack deep friendships. It’s not because we don’t want these things. Above almost every other need, human beings long to have another person look into their face with loving respect and acceptance. It’s that we lack practical knowledge about how to give each other the kind of rich attention we desire. I’m not sure Western societies were ever great at teaching these skills, but over the past several decades, in particular, there’s been a loss of moral knowledge. Our schools and other institutions have focused more and more on preparing people for their careers, but not on the skills of being considerate toward the person next to you. The humanities, which teach us what goes on in the minds of other people, have become marginalized. And a life spent on social media is not exactly helping people learn these skills. On social media you can have the illusion of social contact without having to perform the gestures that actually build trust, care, and affection. On social media, stimulation replaces intimacy. There is judgment everywhere and understanding nowhere.”

“Do you hear how the sand sings?”

“It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.”

“Playing the victim role: Manipulator portrays him- or herself as a victim of circumstance or of someone else's behavior in order to gain pity, sympathy or evoke compassion and thereby get something from another. Caring and conscientious people cannot stand to see anyone suffering and the manipulator often finds it easy to play on sympathy to get cooperation.”

“Many unskilled empaths interpret their talent negatively, inappropriately calling themselves names like “Over-sensitive,” “Neurotic,” or “Co-dependent.” Ridiculous, Brave Empath! You have a gift. It’s tricky but, with skill, you can purposely use that gift to fly in spirit.”

“When you’re an unskilled empath, other people in the room can seem way more vivid than you. Is it common for you to have one or more of the following experiences while you’re with others?”

“Who are you? That sense of identity you have as a person: Could be, that’s where you used to get clobbered.”

“BRAVE EMPATH, that is what I will be calling you in this book as I coach you in empath skills.”

“What kind of skill matters for an empath?”

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”

“What type of steward would I be," Boaz said. "If I didn't use the blessings God gave me to care for those in my power to help?”

“The thing Jesus said about forgiveness? 'When we forgive men for their sins, God forgives us for ours.' We have to remember that, man. Hold it close to our hearts.”

“Good works is giving to the poor and the helpless, but divine works is showing them their worth to the One who matters.”

“Sometimes beauty reminds people they’re still capable of softness.”

“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To sublimate our frustration and anger into something beautiful. Freud called sublimation a virtuous defence mechanism because it is in the arts that we can find our humanity.”

“People die from lack of shared empathy and affinity. By establishing social connectedness, we give hope a chance and the other can become heaven. ( "Le ciel c'est l'autre" )”

“For those constantly full of joy, they sometimes feel a little guilty for always feeling so good. That guilt is compassion: it flies in with an attempt to share one's joy with others who do not have it.”

“The stranded, walking a fine line between reality and illusion, constantly weaving through disappointment and hope, despite all, never stop dreaming of empathy and good feeling, while craving for attention and endorsement. ("No monsters hide at this point" )”

“Bond is stronger than blood. The family grows stronger by bond.”

“But the fact that a man who dealt with the absolute worst of humanity every single day could still find a moment to be charitable gave me a glimmer of hope.”

“...Arm yourself”

“You Are Not Alone”

“Quale sarebbe per me il modo migliore di morire?...Sì, insomma, voglio dire il modo...più degno possibile? Su, me lo dica!”

“How sweet it is to be a floating, white cloud of love in someone's weary mind.”

“In my judgment, the woman is the equal of the man. She has all the rights I have and one more, and that is the right to be protected. That is my doctrine. You are married; try and make the woman you love happy. Whoever marries simply for himself will make a mistake; but whoever loves a woman so well that he says 'I will make her happy,' makes no mistake. And so with the woman who says, 'I will make him happy.' There is only one way to be happy, and that is to make somebody else so.”

“As the neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett writes in her book”

“By becoming interested in the cause, we are less likely to dislike the effect.”

“Silence is occasionally a proactive choice, and not merely the inert absence of noise. It can be an act of courage, power unwielded out of sensitivity or respect, or a circle of concentration to reflect and reminisce. A well-timed silence can command a room, spare others needless pain, or be a pregnant pause to preserve a special moment.”

“Not every story needs a hero. Some need healers. Some need witnesses. Some just need someone who stayed.”

“If you’re overwhelmed, it means you still care. Let that be your compass—not your curse.”

“Not every wound makes noise. Some bleed into the soil, into the stories we pass down. Healing begins with listening.”

“What we call ordinary life is sacred to someone. Protect it like it’s yours—because it is.”

“Justice isn’t a headline—it’s how we show up for each other when no one’s watching.”

“As we say our final goodbyes here today, let us carry forward the lessons of Kyle's life and continue to weave the fabric of our own stories with love, kindness, and empathy.”

“Help someone, you earn a friend. Help someone too much, you make an enemy.”

“Being heartbroken doesn’t mean you stop feeling. Just the opposite — it means you feel it all more.”

“Take lightly what you hear about individuals. We need not distort trust for our paltry little political agendas. We tend to trust soulless, carried information more than we trust soulful human beings; but really most people aren't so bad once you sit down and have an honest, one-on-one conversation with them, once, with an open heart, you listen to their explanations as to why they act the way they act, or say what they say, or do what they do.”

“Why do we need the things in books? The poems, the essays, the stories? Authors disagree. Authors are human and fallible and foolish. Stories are lies after all, tales of people who never existed and the things that never actually happened to them. Why should we read them? Why should we care?”

“Your actions will always be what the world sees, but people who choose to see through God's eyes will always have the compassion to understand why.”

“Opportunities to share love and compassion are all around us. Its going to take an army of compassionate people to heal our world. How will you show yours?”

“We all know people who are smart. But that doesn’t mean they are wise. Understanding and wisdom come from surviving the pitfalls of life, thriving in life, having wide and deep contact with other people. Out of your own moments of suffering, struggle, friendship, intimacy, and joy comes a compassionate awareness of how other people feel—their frailty, their confusion, and their courage. The wise are those who have lived full, varied lives, and reflected deeply on what they’ve been through.”

“I think that a lot of the time, people are generous towards those whom they pity; but only find fault in those whom they see as better than themselves. There is a fake kind of goodness; and that is the goodness that is only good towards other people that make the givers feel better about themselves. Would you be good to someone you think is so much better than you are? Or who has so much more than you have? Or is your goodness only reserved for those who make you feel like a god because you give to them? Too often, there are shining, beautiful people, who suffer so much in this world, because there would be so many others willing to snuff out their flames! Goodness of a person is not measured by sympathy or compassion; rather, goodness is measured by empathy. Empathy goes beyond all the physical things you see with your two eyes. It’s easy to be good to those you pity; much harder to be good to those whom you envy!”

“When I was young, I wanted to be knowledgeable, but as I got older, I wanted to be wise. Wise people don’t just possess information; they possess a compassionate understanding of other people. They know about life.”

“Any man filled with empathy is capable of gaining valuable insights on the human condition through the suffering of others. You do not need to suffer to know suffering, but you need empathy first to identify and feel the suffering of others around you.”

“I am curious about no small number of things, but it's not fair to sate my curiosity at the expense of her pain.”

“Empathy nurtures wisdom. Apathy cultivates ignorance.”

“Your strength will be found when you stop struggling with yourself, instead of thinking everyone is a struggle worth overcoming. Every obstacle in life is a lesson that teaches us, not others.”

“Every so often, we see many people feel uncomfortable with facing the truth. The truth seems to be a brittle deer. We should, however, not fear the fragility of truth, for it creates openness to correction, learning, and growth. It fosters empathy, making inquiry, curiosity, and wisdom possible. Truth becomes less about possession and more about pursuit. (Is it a bird? Is it a plane?)”

“We should not fear the fragility of truth, for it creates openness to correction, learning, and growth. It fosters empathy, making inquiry, curiosity, and wisdom possible. Truth becomes less about possession and more about pursuit. (Is it a bird? Is it a plane?)”

“A prophet is not someone with special visions, just someone blind to most of what others see”

“Faith keeps our ships moving, while empathy and the memories of our experiences lead to wisdom.”

“Were these boys in their right minds? Here were two boys with good intellect, one eighteen and one nineteen. They had all the prospects that life could hold out for any of the young; one a graduate of Chicago and another of Ann Arbor; one who had passed his examination for the Harvard Law School and was about to take a trip in Europe,--another who had passed at Ann Arbor, the youngest in his class, with three thousand dollars in the bank. Boys who never knew what it was to want a dollar; boys who could reach any position that was to boys of that kind to reach; boys of distinguished and honorable families, families of wealth and position, with all the world before them. And they gave it all up for nothing, for nothing! They took a little companion of one of them, on a crowded street, and killed him, for nothing, and sacrificed everything that could be of value in human life upon the crazy scheme of a couple of immature lads.”

“Each person you meet”

“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care”

“Among all the creatures of creation, the gods favor us: We are the only ones who can empathize with their problems.”

“God whispered, "You endured a lot. For that I am truly sorry, but grateful. I needed you to struggle to help so many. Through that process you would grow into who you have now become. Didn't you know that I gave all my struggles to my favorite children? One only needs to look at the struggles given to your older brother Jesus to know how important you have been to me.”

“to have great pain is to have certainty; to hear that another person has pain is to have doubt.”

“There is no key to open the heart of another - except curiosity.”

“Only by examining our personal biases can we grow as artists; only by cultivating empathy can we grow as people.”

“No one has ever properly understood me, I have never fully understood anyone; and no one understands anyone else”

“Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you do criticize him, you'll be a mile away and have his shoes.”