--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We talk about a civilization and love and…" description: "\"We talk about a civilization and love and we're seeing it at the end. So many people around the world are - that whole electronic band that Dostoyevsky..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/michael-novak-12883_acts-of-kindness_we-talk-about-a-civilization-and-love-an_774708.png" --- # We talk about a civilization and love and we're seeing it… ![“We talk about a civilization and love and we're seeing it at the end. So many people around the world are - that whole electronic band that Dostoyevsky imagined of love around the world - that every contribution, every moment of love, every act of kindness feeds that and is like a reservoir for…” quote by Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/michael-novak-12883_acts-of-kindness_we-talk-about-a-civilization-and-love-an_774708.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/michael-novak-12883_acts-of-kindness_we-talk-about-a-civilization-and-love-an_774708.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/michael-novak-12883_acts-of-kindness_we-talk-about-a-civilization-and-love-an_774708.png) > “We talk about a civilization and love and we're seeing it at the end. So many people around the world are - that whole electronic band that Dostoyevsky imagined of love around the world - that every contribution, every moment of love, every act of kindness feeds that and is like a reservoir for somebody in need to draw upon.” [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human connection and love act as a collective reservoir, sustaining others in times of need. **In simple terms:** Love creates a shared support pool. Key Takeaway Cultivate kindness and love. Themes compassion community humanity Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - online communities - volunteer work - mental health support Key Concepts social capital empathy collective resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we turn personal kindness into societal change? - What structures amplify love’s impact? A Different Perspective Kindness alone cannot solve systemic problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Of Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-of-kindness/) [Acts of kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-kindness/) [And love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/and-love/) [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-love-1609314/) [Contribution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contribution/) [Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dostoyevsky/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-world/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Moments of love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments-of-love/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reservoirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reservoirs/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Talk Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-civilization-3014704/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We talk about civilization as though it's a static state. There are no civilized people yet, it's a process that's constantly going on... As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/we-talk-about-civilization-as-though-it-s-a-static-state-there-are-no/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Loving Your Enemies... Far from being the pious injunction of a utopian dreamer, this demand is an absolute necessity for the survival of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/loving-your-enemies-far-from-being-the-pious-injunction-of-a-utopian/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Yes, the civilization of love is possible; it is not a utopia. But it is only possible by a constant and ready reference to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/yes-the-civilization-of-love-is-possible-it-is-not-a-utopia-but-it-is/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [My sense of the holy is bound up with the hope that some day my remote descendants will live in a global civilization in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sense-of-the-holy-is-bound-up-with-the-hope-that-some-day-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The future is in your hearts and in your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and uplifting, of working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-future-is-in-your-hearts-and-in-your-hands-god-is-entrusting-to/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [The best moment of love is when the lover leaves in the taxi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-best-moment-of-love-is-when-the-lover-leaves-in-the-taxi/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill, And may the year ahead be full of contentment and joy. Have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-your-christmas-sparkle-with-moments-of-love-laughter-and-goodwill/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always think of moments of love with someone I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/i-always-think-of-moments-of-love-with-someone-i-love/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [“Because who can describe the look that triggers the memory of loved ones? Who can anticipate the frown, the smile, or the misplaced lock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/because-who-can-describe-the-look-that-triggers-the-memory-of-loved/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [How can one change one's entire life and build a new one on one moment of love? And yet, that's what you make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/how-can-one-change-one-s-entire-life-and-build-a-new-one-on-one/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [“She’d look at me, and I’d stop dead in my tracks, never wanting to leave that moment. Do you know what that’s like?” I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-douglas/she-d-look-at-me-and-i-d-stop-dead-in-my-tracks-never-wanting-to/) [Penelope Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-douglas/) > [Even offering three hundred bowls of food three times a day does not match the spiritual merit gained in one moment of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akkineni-nagarjuna/even-offering-three-hundred-bowls-of-food-three-times-a-day-does-not/) [Akkineni Nagarjuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akkineni-nagarjuna/) > [“Life is nothing but an opportunity for love to blossom. If you are alive, the opportunity is there – even to the last breath.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-nothing-but-an-opportunity-for-love-to-blossom-if-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A moment of anger can destroy a lifetime of work, whereas a moment of love can break barriers that took a lifetime to build.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-brown/a-moment-of-anger-can-destroy-a-lifetime-of-work-whereas-a-moment-of/) [Leon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-brown/) > [Fathers and mothers are just people, which means they make mistakes. Don't hold that against them. Whatever flaws they may have, they created you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/fathers-and-mothers-are-just-people-which-means-they-make-mistakes/) [Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/) ## More by Michael Novak > [Don't be afraid of anything. We've seen so much suffering and evil in the 20th century and we got through it. We can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/don-t-be-afraid-of-anything-we-ve-seen-so-much-suffering-and-evil-in/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [“We can talk about human dignity, but where is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/we-can-talk-about-human-dignity-but-where-is-it/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [To go into a competition and not strive to win is to be a dishonest competitor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/to-go-into-a-competition-and-not-strive-to-win-is-to-be-a-dishonest/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilization, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race. This attainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/unity-in-diversity-is-the-highest-possible-attainment-of-a/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Ending torture and tyranny in Iraq was not a mistake. Supporting democracy in Iraq is not a mistake. Helping the long-suffering Muslims of Iraq…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/ending-torture-and-tyranny-in-iraq-was-not-a-mistake-supporting/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Even rock stars are entitled to privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/even-rock-stars-are-entitled-to-privacy/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [We really feel happier when things look bleak. Hope is endurance. Hope is holding on and going on and trusting in the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/we-really-feel-happier-when-things-look-bleak-hope-is-endurance-hope/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [“The choice to remain faithful to the drive to question (the fertile source of the experience of nothingness) brings with it an obscure joy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/the-choice-to-remain-faithful-to-the-drive-to-question-the-fertile/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [What is the most effective, practical way of raising the wealth of nations? What causes wealth? I have come to think that the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/what-is-the-most-effective-practical-way-of-raising-the-wealth-of/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [“During the next hundred years, the question for those who love liberty is whether we can survive the most insidious and duplicitous attacks from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/during-the-next-hundred-years-the-question-for-those-who-love-liberty/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Everything I do that I'm enthusiastic about. This is genuine enthusiasm. If I don't - I mean I've done other projects that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/everything-i-do-that-i-m-enthusiastic-about-this-is-genuine/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [No great, inspiring culture of the future can be built upon the moral principle of relativism. For at its bottom such a culture holds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/no-great-inspiring-culture-of-the-future-can-be-built-upon-the-moral/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [The most critical threat to our freedom is a failure to appreciate the power of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/the-most-critical-threat-to-our-freedom-is-a-failure-to-appreciate/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [I need not to be afraid of the void. The void is part of my person. I need to enter consciously into it. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/i-need-not-to-be-afraid-of-the-void-the-void-is-part-of-my-person-i/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [It is not possible in this culture today to hold up to public pillory and ridicule any group - whether blacks, American Indians, women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/it-is-not-possible-in-this-culture-today-to-hold-up-to-public-pillory/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) [Explore all 52 Michael Novak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) ## More Acts of kindness quotes > [Our acts of kindness we reserve for our friends, our bounties for our dependants, our riches for our children and relations, our praises for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-massillon/our-acts-of-kindness-we-reserve-for-our-friends-our-bounties-for-our/) [Jean Baptiste Massillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-massillon/) > [Great people create great acts of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/great-people-create-great-acts-of-kindness/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/my-wish-for-you-is-that-you-continue-continue-to-be-who-and-how-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [On the whole, mental archaeology was a sordid digging proposition. The evil men did endured, the good was infinitely more ephemeral. You could generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-kieran-reilly/on-the-whole-mental-archaeology-was-a-sordid-digging-proposition-the/) [Helen Kieran Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-kieran-reilly/) > [Every act of kindness and compassion toward others gets multiplied when they, in turn, pass it on. One by one the world becomes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/every-act-of-kindness-and-compassion-toward-others-gets-multiplied/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [There is no small act of kindness. Every compassionate act makes large the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-anne-radmacher/there-is-no-small-act-of-kindness-every-compassionate-act-makes-large/) [Mary Anne Radmacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-anne-radmacher/) > [If we serve Jesus then every act & thought has meaning. Acts of kindness aren’t just niceties, they become acts of worship..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/if-we-serve-jesus-then-every-act-thought-has-meaning-acts-of-kindness/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [Freeedom ain't free...Continue to pay dues with Random acts of kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freeedom-ain-t-free-continue-to-pay-dues-with-random-acts-of-kindness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-best-portion-of-a-good-man-s-life-is-his-little-nameless/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Random acts of kindness show that even amidst the hustle and bustle, Paris inhabitants are more welcoming that their reputation gives them credit for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lesage/random-acts-of-kindness-show-that-even-amidst-the-hustle-and-bustle/) [Vicki Lesage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lesage/) > [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/) > [You know, you can steel your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror. 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This is something to ponder while remembering that little acts of kindness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-azimov/it-was-once-said-that-violence-is-the-language-of-the-incompetent/) [Sean Azimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-azimov/) [Browse all 264 Acts of kindness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-kindness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We talk about a civilization and love and we're seeing it at the end. 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