Seek To Understand Quotes

For those who seek to understand it, death is a highly creative force. The highest spiritual values of life can originate from the thought and study of death. ~ Elisabeth Kubler Ross

with its graceful language and poetic conceit, and even more because it expressed his own philosophy of science. To wit: As earnestly as men may seek to understand the workings of the universe, they must remember that God is not hampered by their limited logic - that all observed effects may have been wrought by Him in any one of an infinite number of omnipotent ways, and these must ever evade mortal comprehension. ~ Dava Sobel

You take anything you fear and cannot understand and make it an object of hate. So much easier to hate and destroy than to seek to understand. ~ Mainak Dhar

When we seek to understand liberty, equality, progress, constitutional governance, separation of church and state, and the meaning of the American Revolution, we do so in contexts framed by Jefferson's writings and arguments. Whatever we think of Jefferson as a person or as a politician, we can never take away from him his remarkable gift as a writer or his ultimate claims to fame. He achieved his intention to express 'the American mind' and became the leading spokesman for the revolution of ideas that changed, and that continues to change, the face of America and the world. His words mean not only what he might have intended them to mean, but also what succeeding generations of Americans have read into them. Thus, whether he would even comprehend the United States in the first years of the twenty-first century, Jefferson's shadow looms large over us, thanks to the conflicting influences of his thinking, doing, and -- most important -- his writing. That truth alone requires each generation to reacquaint itself with the life and work of Thomas Jefferson, and to grapple with his ambiguous legacies. ~ R.B. Bernstein

When we seek to understand what another appreciates about their own way of life, and when we take the chance to see their life and the beauty of their culture though their eyes, this action and choice can eliminate feelings of both fear and separation and bond us deeply. ~ Jasmuheen

Adrienne Rich once wrote that Virginia Woolf's style - that detachment and banked rage, that light, calculated charm - revealed a woman who never forgot she was being overheard, and evaluated, by men. Reading the flood of public writing about #MeToo in recent years - the op-eds and testimonies - I'd occasionally experience a prickly feeling of recognition. Here again, I'd think, was writing that stemmed from outrage, and often shame, but remained impeccably well-mannered and sure of itself, almost legalistic in structure and presentation. Necessarily, perhaps - women must constantly perform credibility. "The whole long arc of justice now crashing down that we call #MeToo has been about whether women may be in possession of facts, and whether anyone will bother to hear out those facts or believe them or, having believed them, allow those facts to have consequences," Rebecca Solnit has written. These pieces often felt preoccupied with their imagined reception - straining to appease, convince, console - conscious of being overheard, in Rich's phrase, but this time by women as well as men.

Not these novels. They occupy the backwaters where the writer need not pander or persuade, and can instead seek to understand, or merely complicate, something for herself. They are stories about inconsistencies and incoherence, stories that thicken the mysteries of memory and volition. ~ Parul Sehgal

We must seek to understand the intent of communication without prejudging or rejecting the content ... Communication, after all, is not so much a matter of intellect as it is of trust and acceptance of others, of their ideas and feelings, acceptance of the fact that they're different, and that from their point of view, they are right. ~ Stephen Covey

Seek to understand rather than be understood. ~ Stephen Covey

I am a scientist, I seek to understand me." Robert Pollard ~ Thad McKraken

In order to deserve, we must pay our dues and steadily work for perfection. We must relish in struggle, and relinquish pride. We must dispel fear and seek enlightenment. We must shun division and honor love. We must know our hearts and seek to understand others. We must try, live, create, feel, grow and love. ~ Bryant McGill

here's a very worthwhile question to meditate on: How are we, in our own way, going to express and live out the meaning contained in the prayer? Simply by rote recitation? It'll be nothing more than an exercise in futility and hypocrisy unless we seek to understand it and make it real in our lives." To ~ Monks Of New Skete

Wise men don't judge: They seek to understand. ~ Wei Wu Wei

Do not seek victory, for victory in itself will not serve you. Seek to understand what made the victory possible. ~ Chris Matakas

If we wish to understand our own place on earth, we must seek to understand those who have gone on before us. We must look beyond the present moment and see ourselves reflected in the deep pool of time as individual elements of a greater humanity. ~ Ian Mortimer

The most compassionate and peaceful thing you can do for yourself and others is to let go of the past, let go of the anger, let go of trying to hurt people that wronged you. There are thousands of people dying from cancer that wish they had someone to care about them and be with them during their final days. There are children being sold into sex trafficking and are hoping someone would rescue them. There are homeless people that wish they had something warm to wear or eat. There is an entire species being wiped out because not enough people care about our oceans. Today, remember that there is someone praying for the very things you take for granted. Spend your effort where God needs you to be
on the front lines of the war on earth, not on the battlefields of the past. ~ Shannon L. Alder

Don't be quick to judge. Seek to understand. ~ EJay Johnson

Fear isn't the mind killer. It is fathoms deep and miles wide, more intri­cate than the pat­tern on a fine Per­sian rug. I will not "master my fear." I am a thinking man who knows it's not a thing that could ever be mas­tered. I will instead seek to under­stand it, to embrace it, to know how it lifts me up and how it holds me back. ~ Myke Cole

Seek to understand before you speak as if you understand. ~ Johnnie Moore

The writer's job is not to judge, but to seek to understand. ~ Ernest Hemingway,

Many have come to understand that while reality and truth are not always the same, they do not necessarily oppose or preclude one another. The myths of Shiva, the lake and the mountain, Buddhist stories and visualisations, the feeling of a mountain rising: none of these need be literal in order to be considered truthful. Such moments simply point to a truth as complex as the people who seek to understand them. ~ Kavitha Yaga Buggana

I do not endeavor, O Lord, to penetrate thy sublimity, for in no wise do I compare my understanding with that; but I long to understand in some degree thy truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. ~ Anselm Of Canterbury

For the sincere student, it mustn't be enough to simply understand Jiu Jitsu. We must seek to understand ourselves. ~ Chris Matakas

We seek to understand ourselves by telling how we go about securing inner peace, acceptance, and satisfaction intermeshed with layers of pure happiness. Stories allow us to explore the mystery of the universe, share unique experiences, and express personal comprehension. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

We seek to understand Jiu Jitsu as a vehicle to understand ourselves. We have different explicit goals, from getting in shape, learning self-defense or competition, but tacitly we all seek mastery of ourselves. ~ Chris Matakas

To open eyes when others close them
To hear when others do not wish to listen
To look when others turn away
To seek to understand when others give up
To rouse oneself when others accept
To continue to struggle when one is not the strongest
To cry out when others keep silent… ~ Emmanuel Eydoux

Love covers all kinds of offenses, hurts, annoyances, disappointments, and sins that we all suffer because of others. Only love has the power to freely and repeatedly forgive, to truly seek to understand people's weaknesses and complexities, to put things into proper perspective, and to put a blanket over other people's faults. ~ Alexander Strauch

Instead of seeking to pinpoint blame, seek to understand cause. ~ Neale Donald Walsch

Obviously, the final goal of scientists and mathematicians is not simply the accumulation of facts and lists of formulas, but rather they seek to understand the patterns, organizing principles, and relationships between these facts to form theorems and entirely new branches of human thought. For me, mathematics cultivates a perpetual state of wonder about the nature of mind, the limits of thoughts, and our place in this vast cosmos. ~ Clifford A. Pickover

If you're living completely on your own, break out of solitary confinement. Seek to understand others, and help them understand you. ~ Martha Beck

When we seek to understand what makes each of us different before we seek to be understood, we learn. Understanding fosters mutual respect for one another. ~ D'Andre Lampkin

Do not imagine that art or anything else is other than high magic! - is a system of holy hieroglyph. The artist, the initiate, thus frames his mysteries. The rest of the world scoff, or seek to understand, or pretend to understand; some few obtain the truth. ~ Aleister Crowley

She needs to be educated. She needs to know the contents of those books, there. She needs to understand the movements of the stars and the origins of the universe and the requirements of kindness. She needs to know mathematics and poetry. She must ask questions. She must seek to understand. She must understand the laws of cause and effect and unintended consequences. She must learn compassion and curiosity and awe. All of these things. We have to instruct her, Glerk. All three of us. It is a great responsibility." The ~ Kelly Barnhill

It seems reckless, even perverse, to spend so much time and effort nurturing such a deadly thing ... Ernie and Pooka seek to understand death and to master their fear of it by domesticating it in the form of the brugmansia. ~ Dean Koontz

It's like you asked me about the depression thing: you grope towards an understanding of whatever it is your going through, and it's not personal, there are forces in play around you, and you seek to understand them and that way you can go on. ~ Bob Geldof

I believe you should seek to understand and then be understood. ~ Tony Gaskins

Education is ... the invitation to disentangle oneself, for a time, from the urgencies of the here and now and to listen to the conversation in which human beings forever seek to understand themselves. ~ Michael Joseph Oakeshott

Who we are is not a question we can ask without seeking to understand the context in which we live. Biblical counselors seek to understand the influences that shape the responses of the human heart. ~ James MacDonald

The history of Christianity, therefore, must be of concern to all who are interested in the record of man and particularly to all who seek to understand the contemporary human scene. ~ Kenneth Scott Latourette

I don't understand these national awards, because half of those who sit in judgement over Indian films do not ... possess the competence to evaluate a film correctly. ~ Satyajit Ray

How we understand the person and character of God the Father affects every aspect of our lives. It affects far more than what we normally call the "religious" aspect of our lives. If God is the Creator of the entire universe, then it must follow that He is Lord of the whole universe. No part of the world is outside of His lordship. His Holy character has something to say about economics, politics, athletics, romance - everything with which we are involved. ~ R.C. Sproul

Confront all the angry thoughts, feelings, the jealousies and condemnations, to find their cause, seek the root of such feelings and then operate on that. Need of security and reassurance can cause criminal acts. ~ Anais Nin

Self-awareness is a great tool to combating resistance. When you feel resistance to taking action, stop in your tracks. Try to understand the 'why' behind it. Is the resistance valid? ~ Vatsala Shukla

Our practice should be based on the ideal of selflessness. Selflessness is very difficult to understand. If you try to be selfless, that is already a selfish idea. Selflessness will be there when you do not try anything. ~ Shunryu Suzuki

This is the greatest challenge of faith, says Polish, "to live with a God we cannot fully understand, whose actions we explain at our own peril. ~ James Martin

The lack of insight to reality, life and history as well as into God's ways, or sunan in His creation, some people will continue to seek or demand the impossible. They will imagine what does not or cannot happen, misunderstand occurrences and events, and interpret them on the basis of cherished illusions which in no way reflect God's sunan or the essence of Islamic law. ~ Yusuf Al-Qaradawi

We cannot understand life, and therefore we cannot hope to understand death ~ Cassandra Clare

We discover truth by asking rapier-like questions that cut through the thick fog of doctrinarism. Artists and philosophers must be subversive: we need these rebellious cynics to ask questions, they must resist cultural norms; seek out truths that are not self-evident and challenge everything. Doubt, not blind belief, is essential for discovering truth. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is filled with wonders. ~ L. Frank Baum

Nights I stay up writing about you, wondering where you've gone, my heart doesn't understand your absence, I do my best to reassure, but its erratic beating tells me it doesn't believe my lies. ~ D. Michael Hardy

Most of my friends are into strange things I don't really understand - and with a few shameful exceptions I wish them all well. Who am I, after all, to tell some friend he shouldn't change his name to Oliver High, get rid of his family, and join a Satanism cult in Seattle? Or to argue with another friend who wants to buy a single-shot Remington Fireball so he can go out and shoot cops from a safe distance? ~ Hunter S. Thompson

In the beginning the stories were long and colored, but as he grew old and his eyes clouded, the stories were told in only a few words, and she came to understand that all the colors had fallen away from him, leaving only the moments. A woman who performed tricks in the air, an animal pulling a boat under water, dead children who spoke in bones. A man who loved bottles. ~ Pete Dexter

There was almost a fairy quality to this place, he thought. The far look and the clear air and the feeling of detachment that touched almost on greatness of the spirit. As if this were a special place, one of those special places that each man must seek out for himself, and count himself as lucky if he ever found it, for there were those who sought and never found it. And worst of all, there were even those who never hunted for it. ~ Clifford D. Simak

Success is achieved by people who deeply understand reality and know how to use it to get what they want. The converse is also true: idealists who are not well-grounded in reality create problems, not progress. ~ Ray Dalio

I wish Merry was here," he heard himself saying, and quick thoughts raced through his mind, even as he watched the enemy come charging to the assault. "Well, well, now at any rate I understand poor Denethor a little better. We might die together, Merry and I, and since die we must, why not? Well, as he is not here, I hope he'll find an easier end. But now I must do my best. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

The basic goal of labor will not change. It is - as it has always been, and I am sure always will be - to better the standards of life for all who work for wages and to seek decency and justice and dignity for all Americans. ~ George Meany

We wonder, how do you instruct seven billion people as to the relationship to the Earth? Because unless they understand that, and relate the way they should be, the future is pretty dim for the human species. ~ Oren Lyons

In other words, let's face it: Life is basically unfair. But even in a situation that's unfair, I think it's possible to seek out a kind of fairness. Of course, that might take time and effort. And maybe it won't seem to be worth all that. It's up to each individual to decide whether or not it is. ~ Haruki Murakami

American Muse, whose strong and diverse heart So many men have tried to understand But only made it smaller with their art, Because you are as various as your land. ~ Stephen Vincent Benet

The boy held her tighter, murmured soft words to lull her to sleep.
"It's only a nightmare," he whispered. "The dreams will stop."
He didn't understand. The dreams were the only place it was safe to use her power now, and she longed for them. ~ Leigh Bardugo

The musician lifestyle is not easy for most people to understand. This is something I'm struggling with. When you're on tour, people think you're just having the time of your life and it's really romantic. ~ Sharon Van Etten

I'm going to have the daintiest things possible ... things that will match the spring, you understand ... little jelly tarts and lady fingers, and drop cookies frosted with pink and yellow icing, and buttercup cake. ~ L.M. Montgomery

Though every man naturally abhorreth sorrow, and loves the most merry and joyful life; yet few do love the way to joy, or will endure the pains by which it is obtained; they will take the next that comes to hand, and content themselves with earthly pleasures, rather than they will ascend to heaven to seek it ;l and yet when all is done, they must have it there, or be without it (491). ~ Richard Baxter

Lately I can't help wanting us
to be like other people.
For example, if I were a smoker,

you'd lift a match to the cigarette
just as I put it between my lips.
It's never been like that

between us: none of that
easy chemistry, no quick, half automatic
flares. Everything between us

had to be learned.
Saturday finds me brooding
behind my book, all my fantasies

of seduction run up
against the rocks.
Tell me again

why you don't like
sex in the afternoon?
No, don't tell me--

I'll never understand you
never understand us, America's strangest
loving couple: they never

drink a bottle of wine together
and rarely look at each other.
Into each other's eyes, I mean. ~ Deborah Garrison

You have the most revolting Florence Nightingale complex,' said Mrs. Smiling.
It is not that at all, and well you know it. On the whole, I dislike my fellow beings; I find them so difficult to understand. But I have a tidy mind and untidy lives irritate me. Also, they are uncivilized. ~ Stella Gibbons

Ubiquity is the master pacifier, a potent anaesthetic and persuasive desensitiser, and through the universality of His works - where both predator and prey, wicked and good suffer enormously without favouritism or bias in a universe whose laws know no sympathy - the wicked architect has ensured the curious and the distrusting will seek out any alternative explanation for that which they do not wish to recognise , or better still, not see the depravity at all. ~ John Zande

It's always necessary to seek for perfection. Obviously, for us, this word no longer has the same meaning. To me, it means: from one canvas to the next, always go further, further ... ~ Pablo Picasso

we are born with the power to hear,
we must learn to listen.
we are born with the power to see,
we must learn to understand.
we are born with the power to make mistakes,
we must learn to accept and forgive ~ Reynolds

I've undoubtedly offended people, but in the end, I've learned the people that will understand are the people I want to connect to, anyway. ~ Caitlin Stasey

They are quiet for a long time. "Do you remember the time you told me you were afraid that you were a series of nasty surprises for me?" he asks him, and Jude nods, slightly. "You aren't," he tells him. "You aren't. But being with you is like being in this fantastic landscape," he continues, slowly. "You think it's one thing, a forest, and then suddenly it changes, and it's a meadow, or a jungle, or cliffs of ice. And they're all beautiful, but they're strange as well, and you don't have a map, and you don't understand how you got from one terrain to the next so abruptly, and you don't know when the next transition will arrive, and you don't have any of the equipment you need. And so you keep walking through, and trying to adjust as you go, but you don't really know what you're doing, and often you make mistakes, bad mistakes. That's sometimes what it feels like." They're silent. "So basically," Jude says at last, "basically, you're saying I'm New Zealand. ~ Hanya Yanagihara

He'd fought demons before. Deep down in his soul, something was stirring. Something that made the seraph blade blaze brighter in his hand. Something that made him understand the look on Diego's face as he turned to Diana and said, 'Orders?'
'Kill them all, obviously,' Diana said, and the Centurions began to pour down the stairs. ~ Cassandra Clare

If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come. ~ C.S. Lewis

I share with you my beliefs and my way of life that you might understand me. I listen as you share with me your beliefs and way of life that I might understand you. For it is only through truly listening and sharing that we can understand one another. Through understanding comes acceptance. Through acceptance we may one day be able to live together in peace. ~ Raven Williams

If there is a hallmark for this age, perhaps it will be our ability to take the complex findings of scientific research and apply them smoothly and effectively in our everyday lives, to better understand ourselves and to love more fully. ~ Stan Tatkin

He didn't know how one's flesh prickled when fear took hold. He didn't understand what it was like to gaze into the future and know that it would be nothing more than a dark and lonely place. ~ Lorraine Heath

Those that think that wealth is the proper thing for them cannot give up their revenues; those that seek distinction cannot give up the thought of fame; those that cleave to power cannot give the handle of it to others. While they hold their grasp of those things, they are afraid of losing them. When they let them go, they are grieved and they will not look at a single example, from which they might perceive the folly of their restless pursuits - such men are under the doom of heaven. ~ Zhuangzi

In order to understand people, we have to understand their way of life and approach. If we wish to convince them, we have to use their language in the narrow sense of the mind. Something that goes even much further than that is not the appeal to logic and reason, but some kind of emotional awareness of the other people. ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

One of the hardest things about losing someone that you love is that you have to allow yourself to seek and accept comfort in other areas of your life ~ Meg Donohue

Are they moved by a sense of human need for silence, for reflection, for inner seeking? So they want to get away from the noise and tension of modern life, at least for a little while, in order to relax their minds and wills and seek a blessed healing sense of inner unity, reconciliation, integration? ~ Thomas Merton

The world is not always ours to understand.... ~ Heather Graham

I beg you to understand and accept that no matter what name, I am what I am. ~ Keith Donohue

Terrorists like bin Laden are serious about mass murder - and all of us must take their declared intentions seriously. They seek to impose a heartless system of totalitarian control throughout the Middle East, and arm themselves with weapons of mass murder ... Their aim is to seize power in Iraq, and use it as a safe haven to launch attacks against America and the world. ~ George W. Bush