--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great tragedy gives us opportunities for…" description: "\"Great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness.\" — Karen White" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/karen-white-8183_giving_great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for_1123900.png" --- # Great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness. ![“Great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness.” quote by Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/karen-white-8183_giving_great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for_1123900.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/karen-white-8183_giving_great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for_1123900.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/karen-white-8183_giving_great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for_1123900.png) > “Great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness.” [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tragedy creates space for acts of deep compassion and kindness. **In simple terms:** Suffering opens doors to kindness. Key Takeaway Respond to hardship with generosity. Themes compassion growth adversity Mood hopeful empathetic Type fiction philosophical When to use this quote - disaster relief - personal loss - community rebuilding Key Concepts ethical philosophy empathy Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn personal pain into helping others? - What small acts of kindness can you offer now? A Different Perspective Kindness may be limited by resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Great tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-tragedy/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [“We've learned that great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness. It's like a needed reminder that the human spirit is alive and well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/we-ve-learned-that-great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for-great/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“Tragedy often gives birth to courage, it offers man a platform to change what will be." Eli Storm, Emanuel Stone And The Phoenix Shadow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-solomon/tragedy-often-gives-birth-to-courage-it-offers-man-a-platform-to/) Isaac Solomon > [The only thing tragedy gives us is the opportunity to rebuild our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-only-thing-tragedy-gives-us-is-the-opportunity-to-rebuild-our-life/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“And to think I survived this deadly workload, only to be murdered by the sight of my parents' bare asses, a tragedy that gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/and-to-think-i-survived-this-deadly-workload-only-to-be-murdered-by/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [Thank you, Mr. Rochester, for your great kindness. I am strangely glad to get back again to you: and wherever you are is my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/thank-you-mr-rochester-for-your-great-kindness-i-am-strangely-glad-to/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Surely we ought to show them (animals) great kindness and gentleness for many reasons, but, above all, because they are of the same origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/surely-we-ought-to-show-them-animals-great-kindness-and-gentleness/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of Great Kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-eating-of-meat-extinguishes-the-seed-of-great-kindness/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [It's a great kindness to trust people with a secret. They feel so important while telling it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-quillen/it-s-a-great-kindness-to-trust-people-with-a-secret-they-feel-so/) [Robert Quillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-quillen/) > [“Surely the wicked witches of our childhood have died and, from where they are buried, a great kindness has eclipsed their misdeeds. Yes, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-blumenthal/surely-the-wicked-witches-of-our-childhood-have-died-and-from-where/) Michael Blumenthal > [It's a great tragedy when the Bible is interpreted by those who are not in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/it-s-a-great-tragedy-when-the-bible-is-interpreted-by-those-who-are/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/one-of-the-great-tragedies-of-life-is-that-men-seldom-bridge-the-gulf/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [One can relish the varied idiocy of human action during a panic to the full, for, while it is a time of great tragedy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/one-can-relish-the-varied-idiocy-of-human-action-during-a-panic-to/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [We are witnessing the beginning of one of the great tragedies of history. The United States, in a misguided effort to reduce its oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/we-are-witnessing-the-beginning-of-one-of-the-great-tragedies-of/) [Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/) > [“The great tragedy of our lives seems to be that we are smart enough to ask the questions of meaning but too dumb to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/the-great-tragedy-of-our-lives-seems-to-be-that-we-are-smart-enough/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“This is the great tragedy of love—even if you are lucky enough to stumble on it, it never lasts. Every young person believes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-mary-rothschild/this-is-the-great-tragedy-of-love-even-if-you-are-lucky-enough-to/) Hannah Mary Rothschild ## More by Karen White > [“If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk back up to Heaven and bring you home again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/if-tears-could-build-a-stairway-and-memories-a-lane-i-d-walk-back-up/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [Adversity in life does not rob your heart of beauty. It simply teaches it a new song to sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/adversity-in-life-does-not-rob-your-heart-of-beauty-it-simply-teaches/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“Some are called to be gardeners of souls, and she'd tended hers with the blind dedication that accepted the floods and famine along with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/some-are-called-to-be-gardeners-of-souls-and-she-d-tended-hers-with/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“Every woman should have a daughter to tell her stories to. Otherwise, the lessons learned are as useless as spare buttons from a discarded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/every-woman-should-have-a-daughter-to-tell-her-stories-to-otherwise/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“It's good to be a little nervous. God compensates those with a lack of talent with an overabundance of self-confidence. -Gigi”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/it-s-good-to-be-a-little-nervous-god-compensates-those-with-a-lack-of/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“It bonded us. Branded us as best friends. Because I will always remember that when I told her I needed help burying a body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/it-bonded-us-branded-us-as-best-friends-because-i-will-always/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“I looked around the garden, the sun feeling warm on my back. "So why are you here? I would think you'd want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/i-looked-around-the-garden-the-sun-feeling-warm-on-my-back-so-why-are/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [Every woman needs a daughter to tell her stories to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/every-woman-needs-a-daughter-to-tell-her-stories-to/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [Sometimes we make decisions because it seems to be the only path visible at the moment. It's only later that we see there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/sometimes-we-make-decisions-because-it-seems-to-be-the-only-path/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“Love is all about sacrifices—big and small ones. It’s only when you know how much you could give up for somebody that you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/love-is-all-about-sacrifices-big-and-small-ones-it-s-only-when-you/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“Jude says it's because that's the way I look at life\_ it's so much more exciting when you don't know what's on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/jude-says-it-s-because-that-s-the-way-i-look-at-life-it-s-so-much/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“...hearing again the words from the Gullah woman, All shut-eye ain't sleep; all good-bye ain't gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/hearing-again-the-words-from-the-gullah-woman-all-shut-eye-ain-t/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [Sometimes I guess you need to lose everything before you realize what's really important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/sometimes-i-guess-you-need-to-lose-everything-before-you-realize-what/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“The golden moments īn the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; The angels come to visit us, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/the-golden-moments-n-the-stream-of-life-rush-past-us-and-we-see/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [“let the story go, and still clutched F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise in my arms as if to let it go would”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/let-the-story-go-and-still-clutched-f-scott-fitzgerald-s-this-side-of/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) [Explore all 82 Karen White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen White" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for-great-kindness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Giving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for-great-kindness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/karen-white-8183_giving_great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for_1123900.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/karen-white-8183_giving_great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for_1123900.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/karen-white-8183_giving_great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for_1123900.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great tragedy gives us opportunities for great kindness.” — Karen White", "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": "Karen White", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great tragedy gives us opportunities for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for-great-kindness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/great-tragedy-gives-us-opportunities-for-great-kindness/#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 } } ] } ```