Kathi Appelt Quotes

Life is cold. People stay warm through the intimacy of a story.

We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say — and to feel — "Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought."

All people want on this earth is to connect with others. Other than eating and sleeping. Human beings need to connect with other human beings. Otherwise, they lose their mind.

Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being. As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his own existence and that of those who are closest to him, to satisfy his personal desires, and to develop his innate abilities. As a social being, he seeks to gain the recognition and affection of his fellow human beings, to share in their pleasures, to comfort them in their sorrows, and to improve their conditions of life.

Laugh, and the world laughs with you: Weep, and you weep alone. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own.

It has been said that the reason we establish relationships is to assure ourselves of a witness to our lives.

Close friends contribute to our personal growth. They also contribute to our personal pleasure, making the music sound sweeter, the wine taste richer, the laughter ring louder because they are there.

Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.

What a powerful thing to know: That one's own desires are mappable onto strangers; that what one finds in oneself will most certainly be found in The Other.

I've found that the common humanity of people is the most relatable thing, and even if your stories are very specific about a different place, if you have a relatable core of humanity, people will go along with it.

Humans are social beings, and we are happier, and better, when connected to others.

There's something about being with a group of people who become like family that must be needed in society.

At the end of the day, humans are social animals and we are at our best when we get to do things with others who appreciate and enjoy what we enjoy. It's what keeps us human.

All those chemicals that create empathy only work when you are in a room together.

What differentiates us from animals is the fact that we can listen to other people's dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires and defeats - and they in turn can listen to ours.

Happiness is only real when shared.

It's human nature to want to be with other people.

My favorite thing in the world is to have just a big dinner with friends and just sit and talk about their life and their difficulties and all of that.

It makes you realise that people are the same wherever you go.

We've seen that there are a lot of people out there - teenagers in Topeka, housewives in Long Island, millionaire Internet start-up moguls - that all want to connect with each other about what it is to be human.

People could empathize with other people who had gone through the same experience as they had.

Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.

We're all connected, related, part of one another's lives through the stories we tell ourselves and each other. For good and for bad.

What I've found is that humans do laugh at the same things everywhere.

People complain not because something sucks. People complain because they're looking for empathy and to feel connected with those around them. Unfortunately, complaining is maybe the least useful way to connect with other human beings.