Be kind, Everyone you meet is fighting a battle!

Everyone, you meet is fighting a battle: This is a beautiful quote talking about empathy, kindness and generosity. The quote is associated with Plato, Ian Maclaren, John Watson, Brad Meltzer, Robin Williams and Socrates. Its main theme is around asking us to take a step back. It encourages us to look at our surrounding circumstances with kindness, empathy and curiosity. Ultimately, the idea is about kindness, patience and having time for people in our life. It is easy to judge and jump to conclusions. This quote reminds us to be kind – everyone has a battle and challenge. Life is complex as it is – the best thing we can do is try and help. If not, atleast we can listen without brushing these problems away.

Be kind Everyone you meet is fighting a battle meaning

The central theme of this quote is about kindness, generosity and being kind to everyone we meet. Being busy shouldn’t come at the cost of humanity. To be kind to everyone, we need to start from a place of empathy and kindness. I think beyond that is about love for each other, isn’t it? The selfish brain says that my pain is more important and bigger than anyone else. But kindness, compassion and tolerance say that problems are problems – everyone you meet is fighting a battle. These problems are big for the people facing it – we can’t pretend to empathise with them by downplaying them.

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Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. –Plato Ian Maclaren

Kindness is basic – it is the underpinning element of human empathy. As Mother Teresa Exemplifies – kindness can only come from a place of love. The most elevated stage of kindness takes us to love and compassion for everyone we meet. This won’t be easy because some people will take advantage. The problem however is – we try to protect ourselves from these bad people which in turn kills the love within us. Ultimately, no one benefits because, to avoid a few, you kill something so beautiful within you – the power of compassion and love.

In such circumstances, our best bet is to take the role of a giver, love will find its way to us. It will show us the light and create a web of kindness. The beauty is such that you start attracting people full of love and kindness just by being one personality of such nature. This quote – be kind everyone you meet is fighting a battle talks about the value of understanding people. It is also about treating people as humans – with emotions, pain and needing support. We can achieve a lot more by being open, and patient and listen to these pains.

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

Ian Maclaren Plato

Who said everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle?

Although this article says it is Plato, it is said by Ian Maclaren! It appears to be commonly attributed to Plat and also some other names such as Socrates, Ian Maclaren, 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. Perhaps the 2 best names I’d argue for this would be Plato and Ian Maclaren. Although the attribution is contentious, I think the meaning of this quote is beautiful and relevant to the current day.

The main themes of 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

Empathy is at the heart of this quote. Empathy goes beyond sympathy which only talks about feeling sorry for someone else. The empathy quotes talk about feeling the pain and understanding deeper. This will require us to be curious about the type of pain people go through. Empathy needs us to look within ourselves and find kindness for people. Empathy will tell us that the purpose is not to solve a problem or even judge, but to listen, understand and provide support.

These quotes on empathy help us pause and reflect on some of the values they reflect. The main purpose is to find the human within us – the one with emotions, love and kindness for everyone we meet.

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 judgement

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:

26 thoughts on “Be kind, Everyone you meet is fighting a battle!”

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  16. This quote was actually by Ian Maclaren (pseudonym or pen name of Rev. John Watson) but is often misattributed to Plato or Socrates

  17. I am completely with you on this Sweety, it certainly is one of the hardest thing to do to maintain that amount of patience and maturity to every situation. Sometimes I feel if we are able to do even 1% of it, it will be a great progress than our natural response and slowly we start getting acquainted with it till it becomes our second nature. I guess that is what is called growth – maybe :)

  18. That’s my most fav quote, although I struggle constantly to emulate it. I find it easier to do for my favorite people, but much less for those I’m not inclined towards. So there’s prejudice involved into impatience as well. Plenty of scope for growth …

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