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

“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?”

“The mind builds walls. The heart, when allowed, builds windows.”

“Let the systems be efficient. Let us be kind.”

“You are not alone in your ache. The ocean knows. The mountains know. So do we.”

“Avoid judging others, because nobody knows the beauty and the weight of what it means to be who they are.”

“Some times humanity lacks vision, most times understanding.”

“The Practice of Staying”

“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.”