--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are always at our best when compassion…" description: "\"“We are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories of the people on the other side of our con..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/desmond-tutu-442_compassion_we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassio_2621006.jpg" --- # We are always at our best when compassion enables us to… ![“We are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories of the people on the other side of our conflicts.” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/desmond-tutu-442_compassion_we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassio_2621006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/desmond-tutu-442_compassion_we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassio_2621006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/desmond-tutu-442_compassion_we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassio_2621006.jpg) > ““We are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories of the people on the other side of our conflicts.”” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion helps us understand others' pressures and stories during conflict. **In simple terms:** Compassion reveals others' pressures. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion to resolve conflicts. Themes compassion conflict empathy Mood hopeful inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - peace negotiations - community building - personal relationships Key Concepts human rights psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance empathy with justice? - What practices foster genuine compassion? A Different Perspective Compassion alone may not resolve systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-compassion-2110182/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Enables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-enables-2110181/) [Conflicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflicts/) [People Conflicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-conflicts-2110183/) [Stories People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-people/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [War is hell. Sending young people to conflicts that are unwinnable and unresolvable - it puts them in a position where they're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gauthier/war-is-hell-sending-young-people-to-conflicts-that-are-unwinnable-and/) [Mary Gauthier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gauthier/) > [We ought to recognize that religious strife is not the consequence of differences among people. It's about conflicts between creation stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-ought-to-recognize-that-religious-strife-is-not-the-consequence-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We are capable of suffering with our world, and that is the true meaning of compassion. It enables us to recognize our profound interconnectedness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/we-are-capable-of-suffering-with-our-world-and-that-is-the-true/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [My writing has to excite people and depict or include their experiences. That's part of my process - to go out and interact with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/my-writing-has-to-excite-people-and-depict-or-include-their/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I like stories about people. I like things that are human and different. I want to be as engaged in my work as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-like-stories-about-people-i-like-things-that-are-human-and/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [I love to hear stories about people who got to places where they are today. Those kinds of things are very interesting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-smith/i-love-to-hear-stories-about-people-who-got-to-places-where-they-are/) [Tasha Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-smith/) > [We are the party that hears the stories of people, the struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/we-are-the-party-that-hears-the-stories-of-people-the-struggles/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [I like to tell stories about people trying to make the right, difficult decision at the least opportune moment... People in a crucible of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanton/i-like-to-tell-stories-about-people-trying-to-make-the-right/) [Doug Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanton/) > [Coming from the South and growing up in L.A. where it was so segregated - worse than the South in many ways - all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-burnett/coming-from-the-south-and-growing-up-in-l-a-where-it-was-so/) [Charles Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-burnett/) > [Nothing's really changed for me over the years. I like telling stories about people with problems. I can't really put it much simpler than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/nothing-s-really-changed-for-me-over-the-years-i-like-telling-stories/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Often people write stories about people who are suffering, and they're miserable all the time. That's not the case. You go to the food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/often-people-write-stories-about-people-who-are-suffering-and-they-re/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [“I tell my seven-year-old son about his remarkable forefathers. I leave out the bloody details. (For him these people are like knights, which sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-p-tzsch/i-tell-my-seven-year-old-son-about-his-remarkable-forefathers-i-leave/) [Oliver Pötzsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-p-tzsch/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Some people tell stories and some people tell the truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-williams/some-people-tell-stories-and-some-people-tell-the-truth/) [Amber Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-williams/) > [It's often frustrating when you're a war reporter and you're covering these places that far away. You're frustrated by making stories that people can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-rowley/it-s-often-frustrating-when-you-re-a-war-reporter-and-you-re-covering/) [Rick Rowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-rowley/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [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/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories of the people on the other side of our conflicts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Desmond Tutu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassion-enables-us-to-recognize-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassion-enables-us-to-recognize-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/desmond-tutu-442_compassion_we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassio_2621006.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/desmond-tutu-442_compassion_we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassio_2621006.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/desmond-tutu-442_compassion_we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassio_2621006.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories…” — Desmond Tutu", "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": "Desmond Tutu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We are always at our best...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassion-enables-us-to-recognize-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-are-always-at-our-best-when-compassion-enables-us-to-recognize-the/#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 } } ] } ```