---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To ease another’s heartache is to forget…"
description: "\"To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.\" — Abraham Lincoln"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/abraham-lincoln-88_charity_to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget_484728.png"
---

#  To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.

![“To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/abraham-lincoln-88_charity_to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget_484728.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/abraham-lincoln-88_charity_to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget_484728.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/abraham-lincoln-88_charity_to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget_484728.png)

> “To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.”

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Alleviating another’s suffering requires setting aside personal pain, emphasizing empathy and self‑lessness.

**In simple terms:** Help others by forgetting your own hurt.

Key Takeaway

Practice empathy by focusing on others.

Themes

empathy self‑lessness comfort healing

Mood

compassionate thoughtful

Type

historical philosophical

When to use this quote

- counseling
- friend support
- volunteering

Key Concepts

compassion emotional intelligence

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you help others while caring for yourself?
- When is it okay to prioritize your own needs?

A Different Perspective

Neglecting self‑care can lead to burnout.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Charity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charity/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Heartache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartache/) [Helping others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping-others/) [Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humble/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Public service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-service/) [Volunteerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volunteerism/)

## Related quotes

> [What are you doing for others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-are-you-doing-for-others/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/everyone-can-be-great-because-everyone-can-serve/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [“Volunteering to help others is the right thing to do, and it also boosts personal happiness; a review of research by the Corporation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/volunteering-to-help-others-is-the-right-thing-to-do-and-it-also/)

[Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/)

> [There is but one unconditional commandment ... to bring about the very largest total universe of good which we can see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-is-but-one-unconditional-commandment-to-bring-about-the-very/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [I've always thought that the best solution for those who feel helpless is for them to help others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-best-solution-for-those-who-feel/)

[Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/)

> [Volunteering is so pervasive it's invisible. We take for granted all the things that have been pioneered by concerned, active volunteers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-ellis/volunteering-is-so-pervasive-it-s-invisible-we-take-for-granted-all/)

Susan J. Ellis

> [If you ever need a helping hand, it is at the end of your arm. As you get older you must remember you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/if-you-ever-need-a-helping-hand-it-is-at-the-end-of-your-arm-as-you/)

[Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/)

> [“They have a Right to censure, that have a Heart to help: The rest is Cruelty, not Justice. (Frequently misquoted as "He has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/they-have-a-right-to-censure-that-have-a-heart-to-help-the-rest-is/)

[William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/)

> [The debt that each generation owes to the past, it must pay to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-scott-duniway/the-debt-that-each-generation-owes-to-the-past-it-must-pay-to-the/)

[Abigail Scott Duniway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-scott-duniway/)

> [If compassion was the motivating factor behind all of our decisions, would our world not be a completely different place?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/if-compassion-was-the-motivating-factor-behind-all-of-our-decisions/)

[Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/)

> [I believe that to meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-believe-that-to-meet-the-challenge-of-our-times-human-beings-will/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/may-i-never-get-too-busy-in-my-own-affairs-that-i-fail-to-respond-to/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important to the person who serves as well as the recipient.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-height/without-community-service-we-would-not-have-a-strong-quality-of-life/)

[Dorothy Height](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-height/)

> [“Service to humanity is service to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/service-to-humanity-is-service-to-god/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [Paul Revere earned his living as a silversmith. But what do we remember him for? His volunteer work. All activism is volunteering in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-ellis/paul-revere-earned-his-living-as-a-silversmith-but-what-do-we/)

Susan J. Ellis

## More by Abraham Lincoln

> [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-wish-to-be-a-lawyer-attach-no-consequence-to-the-place-you-are/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [As we keep or break the Sabbath Day we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/as-we-keep-or-break-the-sabbath-day-we-nobly-save-or-meanly-lose-the/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [With high hope for the future, no prediction is ventured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/with-high-hope-for-the-future-no-prediction-is-ventured/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-glad-to-see-that-a-system-of-labor-prevails-under-which-laborers/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. None who would do more to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-man-does-not-live-who-is-more-devoted-to-peace-than-i-am-none-who/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

[Explore all 1,437 Abraham Lincoln quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

## More Charity quotes

> [The greatest charity you can contribute to is yourself. Instead of spending a dollar to help feed hungry children, why not spend that dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-greatest-charity-you-can-contribute-to-is-yourself-instead-of/)

[Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/)

> [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [I would have none of that rigid circumspect charity which is never done without scrutiny, and which always mistrusts the truth of the necessities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-massillon/i-would-have-none-of-that-rigid-circumspect-charity-which-is-never/)

[Jean Baptiste Massillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-massillon/)

> [I'm publicist, patron of nine charities, creative director, food consultant, recipe developer - and mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-monroe/i-m-publicist-patron-of-nine-charities-creative-director-food/)

[Jack Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-monroe/)

> [The next time you're looking at a charity, don't ask about the rate of their overhead. Ask about the scale of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-time-you-re-looking-at-a-charity-don-t-ask-about-the-rate-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/)

F. A. Harper

> [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/)

[John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Considering community support and cost-benefit analysis, I have supported earmarks for projects of high public purpose involving such areas as higher education, alternative energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/considering-community-support-and-cost-benefit-analysis-i-have/)

[Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/)

> [It's always great to be able to give back to the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-vucevic/it-s-always-great-to-be-able-to-give-back-to-the-community/)

[Nikola Vucevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-vucevic/)

> [Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-of-clairvaux/slander-is-a-poison-which-kills-charity-both-in-the-slanderer-and-the/)

[Bernard of Clairvaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-of-clairvaux/)

> [I like to give back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/i-like-to-give-back/)

[Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/)

> [We have to restore power to the family, to the neighborhood, and the community with a non-market principle, a principle of equality, of charity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/we-have-to-restore-power-to-the-family-to-the-neighborhood-and-the/)

[Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/)

> [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/)

[Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/)

> [I own about 300 pairs of shoes. When I start to go over 300, I have mini-sales from my closet and give the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/i-own-about-300-pairs-of-shoes-when-i-start-to-go-over-300-i-have/)

[Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/)

[Browse all 2,477 Charity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Abraham Lincoln"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget-one-s-own/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Charity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget-one-s-own/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/abraham-lincoln-88_charity_to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget_484728.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/abraham-lincoln-88_charity_to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget_484728.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/abraham-lincoln-88_charity_to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget_484728.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.” — Abraham Lincoln",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Abraham Lincoln",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To ease another’s heartache is to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget-one-s-own/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/to-ease-another-s-heartache-is-to-forget-one-s-own/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
