--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tenderness emerges from the fact that the…" description: "\"Tenderness emerges from the fact that the two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we are all h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/rollo-may-1295_facts_tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-th_2079402.jpg" --- # Tenderness emerges from the fact that the two persons… ![“Tenderness emerges from the fact that the two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we are all heir because we are individuals, can participate in a relationship that, for the moment, is not of two isolated selves but a union” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/rollo-may-1295_facts_tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-th_2079402.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/rollo-may-1295_facts_tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-th_2079402.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/rollo-may-1295_facts_tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-th_2079402.jpg) > “Tenderness emerges from the fact that the two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we are all heir because we are individuals, can participate in a relationship that, for the moment, is not of two isolated selves but a union” [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It expresses that intimacy arises when individuals transcend isolation, forming a temporary union that counters inherent separateness. **In simple terms:** Intimacy bridges personal isolation. Key Takeaway Seek genuine connection. Themes intimacy isolation union Mood thoughtful hopeful Type existential psychological When to use this quote - therapy sessions - friendship building - team collaboration Key Concepts existential psychology human relationships Questions to Reflect On - What does isolation feel like? - How can you foster lasting union? A Different Perspective Union may be fleeting, not lasting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Funny relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-relationship/) [Heirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heirs/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Romantic love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic-love/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Separateness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separateness/) [Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [True love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-love/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) ## Related quotes > [“The two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we all are heir as individuals, can participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individuals-do-to-overcome-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The deepest need of the human being is to overcome our separateness, to leave the prison of our loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-deepest-need-of-the-human-being-is-to-overcome-our-separateness/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The deepest need of man, then, is the need to overcome his separateness, to leave the prison of his aloneness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-deepest-need-of-man-then-is-the-need-to-overcome-his-separateness/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Basically, there can only be two answers. One is to overcome separateness and find unity by regression to the state of unity which existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/basically-there-can-only-be-two-answers-one-is-to-overcome/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The "pathology of normalcy" rarely deteriorates to graver forms of mental illness because society produces the antidote against such deterioration. When pathological processes become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pathology-of-normalcy-rarely-deteriorates-to-graver-forms-of/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The sick individual finds himself at home with all other similarly sick individuals. The whole culture is geared to this kind of pathology. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-sick-individual-finds-himself-at-home-with-all-other-similarly-2/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-do-not-fear-death-i-had-been-dead-for-billions-and-billions-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Marriage is like a 5,000- piece jigsaw of the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-ladman/marriage-is-like-a-5-000-piece-jigsaw-of-the-sky/) [Cathy Ladman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-ladman/) > [When a man is in love or in debt, someone else has the advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-balance/when-a-man-is-in-love-or-in-debt-someone-else-has-the-advantage/) Bill Balance > [We like a man to come right out and say what he thinks- if we agree with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-like-a-man-to-come-right-out-and-say-what-he-thinks-if-we-agree/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Relationships dont always make sense. Especially from the outside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/relationships-dont-always-make-sense-especially-from-the-outside/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [A lot of people wonder how you can tell if you're really in love. Just ask yourself this question: 'Would I mind being financially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-shakes/a-lot-of-people-wonder-how-you-can-tell-if-you-re-really-in-love-just/) [Ronnie Shakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-shakes/) > [Men feel that women somehow drag them down, and women feel that way about men. It's possible that both are right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/men-feel-that-women-somehow-drag-them-down-and-women-feel-that-way/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The appropriate age for marrige is around eighteen and thirty-seven for man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-appropriate-age-for-marrige-is-around-eighteen-and-thirty-seven/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jeni/i-think-that-s-how-chicago-got-started-a-bunch-of-people-in-new-york/) [Richard Jeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jeni/) ## More by Rollo May > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the effect which comes when we use our powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-effect-which-comes-when-we-use-our-powers/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or-those-who-cling-most/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-do-not/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [By the creative act, we are able to reach beyond our own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/by-the-creative-act-we-are-able-to-reach-beyond-our-own-death/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-zest-that-you-get-out-of-using-your-talents-your/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/evil-in-this-system-of-ethics-is-that-which-tears-apart-shuts-out-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [We receive love — from our children as well as others — not in proportion to our demands or sacrifices or needs, but roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-receive-love-from-our-children-as-well-as-others-not-in-proportion/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-opposite-of-courage-in-our-society-is-not-cowardice-it-is/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Explore all 259 Rollo May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## More Facts quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [Le biologiste passe, la grenouille reste. The biologist passes, the frog remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/le-biologiste-passe-la-grenouille-reste-the-biologist-passes-the-frog/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) [Browse all 19,906 Facts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tenderness emerges from the fact that the two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we are all heir because we are individuals, can participate in a relationship that, for the moment, is not of two isolated selves but a union", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rollo May" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-the-two-persons-longing-as-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Facts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-the-two-persons-longing-as-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/rollo-may-1295_facts_tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-th_2079402.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/rollo-may-1295_facts_tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-th_2079402.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/rollo-may-1295_facts_tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-th_2079402.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tenderness emerges from the fact that the two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the…” — Rollo May", "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": "Rollo May", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tenderness emerges from the fact that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-the-two-persons-longing-as-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-the-two-persons-longing-as-all/#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 } } ] } ```