Be kind Everyone you meet is fighting a battle – Ian Mclaren

Everyone, you meet is fighting a battle: This quote is a stark reminder of empathy, kindness and treating each other with love. Some sources say that this quote is from Ian Maclaren and some others as Plato. In other cases, they also say it is from John Watson, Brad Meltzer, Robin Williams Socrates etc. As a quote becomes popular, there will be a lot of names of names associated with it. In this article, however, we will concentrate on the meaning of this quote, its message and analysis.

Life is complex, we can’t compare our life to someone else’s. What’s easy for us is difficult for someone else and vice versa. In essence, we can’t judge someone just because we think that they’re doing something wrong. Things are complicated – the best thing we can do is to try and support or help. At the very least, we can be kind to each other and try to help out where we can.

Be kind Everyone you meet is fighting a battle meaning

As you know already, this quote is all about kindness and empathy towards each other. Each of us has our struggles in life. For some it is money, for others, it may be love or sadness. Each of these problems is challenging to face. Hence, people go through their struggles and try to find a solution. Sometimes, these solutions make no sense to others and might even appear illogical. But it’s too simplistic to think that we have a solution or someone else is not smart enough.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Ian Maclaren Plato

In some cases, it can also manifest as impatience because we don’t understand the challenges that they are going through. We can’t solve others’ problems all the time, nor can we empathise fully. At these times, the best thing we can do is to remember this message from Ian Maclaren. Be kind for everyone you meet who is fighting a battle – these battles are sometimes visible. Most times, we can’t see the struggle that people are going through.

The main message to understand is that nothing is as simple as it seems. Life is difficult and people are going through many challenges, some of which we can’t even understand. In such situations, we can only be kind and try to understand them and help. If not, we should at least walk away instead of making things worse for them. When we have a choice to be anything, we can be kind and human about these challenges. Appreciate that people will face difficulties and sometimes we can’t do anything about it. All of it is fine as long as we try to respect them and appreciate the challenges they go through.

Who said everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle?

Many sources refer to this quote from Plato. However, some other sources talk about Ian Maclaren! The other contenders are Socrates, Philo of Alexandria, John Watson, Brad Meltzer and even Robbie Wiliams. Perhaps with an old quote like this, it is hard to trace back to the real origins. Maybe the best course of action is to share the credit with all these people and focus on the message.

The main points in this quote are:

• Start with empathy, try to understand what people might be feeling
• Being curious about people helps us listen to them
• Love is a beautiful gift that helps both us and the recipient
• Think about others first instead of yourself – life is also about how others are doing
• Finally, give time for love in your life. If you give love, it will come back

Quotes on Empathy

Kindness and empathy go hand in hand – empathy acts as an enabler for us to be kind. Once we empathise with someone, we can respond to their pain with respect and appreciate their challenges. It is a beautiful ability to be able to empathise with people and treat each other emotionally. The logical brain might come up with better solutions and there’s a place for it. However, people will listen to the logical brain only when they trust someone. Empathy can help us get there.

As long as the main purpose is to genuinely help someone, these quotes help us focus on what’s important and any given time. The solutions are simpler often. These quotes on empathy help us pause and reflect on its meaning and how best we can use it in our situations in life.

The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others – Albert Schweitzer

I believe that what we regret most are our failures of courage, whether it’s the courage to be kinder, to show up, to say how we feel, to set boundaries, to be good to ourselves. For that reason, regret can be the birthplace of empathy – Brene Brown

No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care – Theodore Roosevelt

Looking at various means of developing compassion, I think empathy is an important factor: the ability to appreciate others’ suffering. – Dalai Lama

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know when it will be too late – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quotes on Empathy

There are more beautiful quotes on kindness – but you get the gist of what we’re talking about. Empathy, compassion, kindness and curiosity go together.

Being Kind to People

Being kind is a natural behaviour, isn’t it? The essence of being human means that we are social, find love for each other and share kindness. It is about treating others with the same level of kindness that we’d like in our times of vulnerability. Most times, people don’t need solutions, but to be treated as human and with kindness. In the following sections, we talk about what it means to be kind to people.

Empathy Vs Judgement

• Instead of judgment, replace this with curiosity – make way for the question – can I extend kindness to understand what the other person might be going through?
• We may not always be able to empathise, but can we offer sympathy
• Patience I know is a virtue, but why isn’t it a basic courtesy? Our lives are important, but so are the lives of others. We can gain so much by contributing to the lives of others.

Kindness and Generosity

Kindness isn’t easy – it expects you to step out of your life and think about someone else. Most times when we’re frustrated, kindness doesn’t come naturally. Just like everything else, it is a habit that we can create and excel at. The central theme to remember is that everyone we meet is fighting their own battle. Maybe ours are more important – but that in itself entails a judgement. Our battles are precious and important for us all.

Being curious about people rather than judgemental

Ultimately, judgment is easy, Empathy is hard! This quote – be kind to everyone you meet is fighting a battle is about empathy and curiosity. Above all, it is about trying to understand that people have a background for their response. It doesn’t mean that we should condone everything and be okay even if it is attacking our values. The quote means that we will be mindful and understand why.

We all project our emotions in different manners, there is no – one perfect way. But while doing so, sometimes a hurt can come across as anger or vulnerability as attacking. We don’t know unless we take a step back and inquire. The most helpful questions are:

• What can this reaction mean? Why are they acting like this?
• Is this reaction normal to the person I know? Can there be an explanation for why they are acting like this?
• What are they saying? I know these are the words, but what is the actual message or emotion they are conveying?

These questions are mere suggestions, but the bottom line is to be kind and empathetic. A good starting point is by replacing our immediate reaction with a sense of curiosity and interest to understand.

References:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy