Heart, we will forget him, You and I, tonight! You must forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light.
Emily DickinsonRead
If I can stop one heart from breaking…” Emily Dickinson If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the idea that a life dedicated to helping others is meaningful.
Emily Dickinson’s quote emphasizes the value of compassion and altruism. She suggests that the ultimate purpose of life is to alleviate suffering and assist others in distress. By stopping even one heart from breaking or easing someone else's pain, a person’s existence is justified and fulfilled, highlighting the profound impact of small acts of kindness on the broader human experience.
Themes
CompassionKindnessLifeHelping OthersMeaning
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community service, one might use this quote to inspire others to help those in need.
More from Emily Dickinson
All quotes →I held a jewel in my fingers And went to sleep. The day was warm, and winds were prosy; I said: "'T will keep." I woke and chid my honest fingers,— The gem was gone; And now an amethyst remembrance Is all I own.
Emily DickinsonRead
I'll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time. The steeples swam in amethyst, The news like squirrels ran. The hills untied their bonnets, The bobolinks begun. Then I said softly to myself, "That must have been the sun!
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My best Acquaintances are those With Whom I spoke no Word
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This is the Hour of Lead- Remembered, if outlived, As freezing persons, recollect the Snow- First-Chill-then Stupor- then the letting go---
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Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.
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Similar quotes
God has identified himself with the hungry, the sick, the naked, the homeless; hunger not only for bread, but for love, for care, to be somebody to someone; nakedness, not for clothing only, but nakedness of that compassion that very few people give to the unknown; homelessness, not only just for a shelter made from stone but for that homelessness that comes from having no one to call your own.
Mother TeresaRead
Every single being, even those who are hostile to us, is just as afraid of suffering as we are, and seeks happiness in the same way we do. Every person has the same right as we do to be happy and not to suffer. So let's take care of others wholeheartedly, of both our friends and our enemies. This is the basis for true compassion.
Dalai LamaRead
Sometime in your life, hope that you might see one starved man, the look on his face when the bread finally arrives. Hope that you might have baked it or bought or even kneaded it yourself. For that look on his face, for your meeting his eyes across a piece of bread, you might be willing to lose a lot, or suffer a lot, or die a little, even.
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For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.
Gautama BuddhaRead
We have to have a deep, patient compassion for the fears of others and irrational mania of those who hate or condemn us.
Thomas MertonRead
Most people never really sat down and got to know a homeless person, but every homeless person is just a real person that was created by God and it is the same kind of different as us; they just have a different story.
Ron HallRead