Kenneth Lonergan Quotes

I am a human being; nothing human can be alien to me.

I realized that a great deal of life is exactly and precisely about being able to feel pain: my own and other people's.

Understanding of our fellow human beings...becomes fruitful only when it is sustained by sympathetic feelings in joy and sorrow.

If each man or woman could understand that every other human life is as full of sorrows, or joys, or base temptations, of heartaches and of remorse as his own . . . how much kinder, how much gentler he would be.

Do not assume that he who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life may also have much sadness and difficulty, that remains far beyond yours. Were it otherwise, he would never have been able to find these words.

I want people to be more open and tolerant. I want them to know that behind every stranger is a backstory that is the common denominator - for we all share in the human experience: pain, sadness, grief, lack of love, and then, with hope and help, step by step achievements.

I have a lot of compassion for human beings in life experiences, so I allow myself to feel what these characters are feeling and don't have a problem accepting that.

No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself.

To share our stories is not only a worthwhile endeavor for the storyteller, but for those who hear our stories and feel less alone because of it.

We are all trying to make it the best way we know how, so when we look at each other as individuals and nations, we should do so with compassion.

Nobody understands another's sorrow, and nobody another's joy.

At the end of the day, stories connect us, not politics. And there's so many stories out there waiting to be told. It's just a matter of who's out there listening.

Humans aren't as good as we should be in our capacity to empathize with feelings and thoughts of others, be they humans or other animals on Earth. So maybe part of our formal education should be training in empathy. Imagine how different the world would be if, in fact, that were 'reading, writing, arithmetic, empathy.'

We may thank God that we can feel pain and know sadness, for these are the human sentiments that constitute our glory as well as our grief.

Without tolerance, our world turns into hell.

I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a classroom, or a soccer team, or a food pantry, or any of those things. I mean, we're kind of more alike than we are different.

How can you expect a man who's warm to understand one who's cold?

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.

You have to see and smell and feel the circumstances of people to really understand them.

And when I'd be reporting in Israel, Palestinians would say, the Jews they're not like us, and the Jews would say the same things about the Palestinians, they don't want what we want. And I never bought it as a reporter and I don't buy it as a novelist. I think, you know, the sound of somebody crying for their lost child sounds the same.

As human beings, what makes us able to empathize with people is a connection that is not necessarily understood mentally.

Sometimes we are separated by differences, and sometimes we are united by common ideals of respect and compassion.

People forget that everyone has feelings, regardless of their career choice.

It doesn't hurt to show some empathy.

I'm not generally a sensitive person, but I tend to be more sensitive toward others and what they're going through. I don't know if that's the healthiest thing, but it's the truth.