A broken shell that reveals new understanding captures how pain can open a mind to deeper insight. Other quotes compare understanding to building structures, saying that humor and joy can measure its size, and that knowing a soul lets one read many languages. They also point out that feeling misunderstood yet smiling shows that true understanding often comes from compassion, not judgment.
![“I grew up not understanding what was true and what was not true. It gave me a sense of unreality. I was told that this man [mom's lover] was not my mother's lover - when he was. I was told he was there as a male babysitter for my brother so that he would learn sports and other manly things.” quote by Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/be5/carly-simon-9969_babysitter_i-grew-up-not-understanding-what-was-tru_666648.jpg)
