--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems that the ancient Medicine Men…" description: "\"It seems that the ancient Medicine Men understood that listening to another's story somehow gives us the strength of example to carry on, as well as sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/mark-nepo-1670_ancient_it-seems-that-the-ancient-medicine-men-u_3028149.jpg" --- # It seems that the ancient Medicine Men understood that… ![“It seems that the ancient Medicine Men understood that listening to another's story somehow gives us the strength of example to carry on, as well as showing us aspects of ourselves we can't easily see. For listening to the stories of others - not to their precautions or personal commandments - is…” quote by Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/mark-nepo-1670_ancient_it-seems-that-the-ancient-medicine-men-u_3028149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/mark-nepo-1670_ancient_it-seems-that-the-ancient-medicine-men-u_3028149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/mark-nepo-1670_ancient_it-seems-that-the-ancient-medicine-men-u_3028149.jpg) > “It seems that the ancient Medicine Men understood that listening to another's story somehow gives us the strength of example to carry on, as well as showing us aspects of ourselves we can't easily see. For listening to the stories of others - not to their precautions or personal commandments - is a kind of water that breaks the fever of our isolation. If we listen closely enough, we are soothed into remembering our common name.” [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening to others’ stories reveals hidden parts of ourselves and eases loneliness, giving us shared strength. **In simple terms:** Stories help us see ourselves and feel less alone. Key Takeaway Listen deeply to others. Themes empathy self‑discovery community Mood reflective comforting Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - team building - friendship Key Concepts Narrative therapy shared humanity Questions to Reflect On - How does hearing another’s story change your self‑view? - What barriers prevent you from truly listening? A Different Perspective Listening alone may not solve deep personal issues without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Commandments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandments/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Precaution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precaution/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [For listening to the stories of others ... is a kind of water that breaks the fever of our isolation. If we listen closely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/for-listening-to-the-stories-of-others-is-a-kind-of-water-that-breaks/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The activity of interpreting might be understood as listening for the 'song beneath the words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-activity-of-interpreting-might-be-understood-as-listening-for-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I came to love the rhythm of the sound effects and the whole experience of listening to a story. I made a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-fessenden/i-came-to-love-the-rhythm-of-the-sound-effects-and-the-whole/) [Larry Fessenden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-fessenden/) > [And the people listened, and their faces were quiet with listening. The story tellers, gathering attention into their tales, spoke in great rhythms, spoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-the-people-listened-and-their-faces-were-quiet-with-listening-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“If you remember the pleasure of hearing a story many times, and you will remember that while you were listening you become three people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/if-you-remember-the-pleasure-of-hearing-a-story-many-times-and-you/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [“Prayer is based on the remote possibility that someone is actually listening; but so is a lot of conversation. If the former seems far-fetched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-michael-hecht/prayer-is-based-on-the-remote-possibility-that-someone-is-actually/) [Jennifer Michael Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-michael-hecht/) > [“Ally placed her hands over her ears and changed, “La-la-la, not-listening-to-the-story-of-my-brother-proposing-while-doing-the-nasty-one-more-time, la-la-la.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/ally-placed-her-hands-over-her-ears-and-changed-la-la-la-not/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [To call out for the hand of the enemy is a rather extreme measure, yet a better one, I think, than to remain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/to-call-out-for-the-hand-of-the-enemy-is-a-rather-extreme-measure-yet/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Maybe more than a teller, I am a story listener. I really enjoy listening to stories. I remember them and keep them in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/maybe-more-than-a-teller-i-am-a-story-listener-i-really-enjoy/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) > [We've been watching and listening to the same stories since the beginning of time - and we love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinta-brunson/we-ve-been-watching-and-listening-to-the-same-stories-since-the/) [Quinta Brunson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinta-brunson/) > [During my younger days, we didn't have digital media or electronic gadgets the way we do now. So the best part of my day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-murty/during-my-younger-days-we-didn-t-have-digital-media-or-electronic/) [Sudha Murty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-murty/) > [I got the best of Rod. And I am fully aware that, even though I love listening to his stories of the crazy days,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-lancaster/i-got-the-best-of-rod-and-i-am-fully-aware-that-even-though-i-love/) [Penny Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-lancaster/) > [I really enjoy listening to stories. I remember them and keep them in my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/i-really-enjoy-listening-to-stories-i-remember-them-and-keep-them-in/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) > [There are some amazing people around who can tell stories about drag from the '60s and in New York, like the amazing club kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/there-are-some-amazing-people-around-who-can-tell-stories-about-drag/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [“It's not so much that I mind listening to her stories. Everybody likes to have an audience - that's why most people have kids,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-epstein/it-s-not-so-much-that-i-mind-listening-to-her-stories-everybody-likes/) [Robin Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-epstein/) ## More by Mark Nepo > [“Often we find it easier to think our way around things rather than to feel our way through them:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/often-we-find-it-easier-to-think-our-way-around-things-rather-than-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Each soul on earth is complete unto itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/each-soul-on-earth-is-complete-unto-itself/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“a living symbol that can call into my moment of sadness a deeper sense of plenitude and generosity that is always there, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/a-living-symbol-that-can-call-into-my-moment-of-sadness-a-deeper/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“COMING OUT While there is much to do we are not here to do.   Under the want to problem-solve is the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/coming-out-while-there-is-much-to-do-we-are-not-here-to-do-under-the/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The greatest thing we can do to be closer to our own lives and to the freshness of living is to open up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-greatest-thing-we-can-do-to-be-closer-to-our-own-lives-and-to-the/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [For though we stubbornly cling, believing in our moment of hunger that there is no other possibility of love, we only have to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/for-though-we-stubbornly-cling-believing-in-our-moment-of-hunger-that/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Perhaps the hardest thing I've learned, and still struggle with, is that I don't have to be finished in order to be whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/perhaps-the-hardest-thing-i-ve-learned-and-still-struggle-with-is/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [A successful creative expression is one in which the person who has expressed it was transformed for having encountered it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/a-successful-creative-expression-is-one-in-which-the-person-who-has/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [No amount of thinking can stop thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/no-amount-of-thinking-can-stop-thinking/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“Yet beneath all the talk of tragedy and grace, I have come to believe that we are destined to be opened by the living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/yet-beneath-all-the-talk-of-tragedy-and-grace-i-have-come-to-believe/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [The glassblower knows: while in the heat of beginning, any shape is possible. Once hardened, the only way to change is to break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-glassblower-knows-while-in-the-heat-of-beginning-any-shape-is/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [We work so hard to get somewhere, to realize a dream, to arrive at some destination, that we often forget that though some satisfaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/we-work-so-hard-to-get-somewhere-to-realize-a-dream-to-arrive-at-some/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Our job is not to expose the mystery but to participate in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/our-job-is-not-to-expose-the-mystery-but-to-participate-in-it/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Pursue the obstacle It will set you free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/pursue-the-obstacle-it-will-set-you-free/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) [Explore all 217 Mark Nepo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? 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