--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each of us as poets, as decent suffering…" description: "\"Each of us as poets, as decent suffering human beings, has to find a way to run our lives that is compassionate toward one another and toward our envir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/sam-hamill-16399_compassionate_each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering_399759.png" --- # Each of us as poets, as decent suffering human beings, has… ![“Each of us as poets, as decent suffering human beings, has to find a way to run our lives that is compassionate toward one another and toward our environment.” quote by Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/sam-hamill-16399_compassionate_each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering_399759.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/sam-hamill-16399_compassionate_each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering_399759.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/sam-hamill-16399_compassionate_each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering_399759.png) > “Each of us as poets, as decent suffering human beings, has to find a way to run our lives that is compassionate toward one another and toward our environment.” [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must live with compassion for each other and the environment, recognizing our shared humanity and suffering. **In simple terms:** Live compassionately toward people and nature. Key Takeaway Practice empathy daily. Themes compassion environment humanity Mood reflective hopeful Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - community activism - environmental stewardship Key Concepts ethical living interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - How can you show compassion in a stressful situation? - What small actions benefit both people and the planet? A Different Perspective Compassion can be hard when personal survival feels threatened. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassionate/) [Compassionate Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassionate-environment-3588327/) [Decent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent/) [Decent Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent-suffering-3588328/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Lives Compassionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-compassionate-3588326/) [Our environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-environment/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [We poets don't tend to be certain a lot. Much of our art is made out of our own uncertainty. And there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/we-poets-don-t-tend-to-be-certain-a-lot-much-of-our-art-is-made-out/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I think a lot of American poets are swimming-pool Soviets. A lot of them have taken the comfortable, self-protective route too often. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-think-a-lot-of-american-poets-are-swimming-pool-soviets-a-lot-of/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Just because your environment or living space changes doesn't mean that your attitude necessarily has to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/just-because-your-environment-or-living-space-changes-doesn-t-mean/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [Let's clean up our environment. Let's clean up our bodies, but most importantly, let's not permit our babies of the future to be polluted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-slaughter/let-s-clean-up-our-environment-let-s-clean-up-our-bodies-but-most/) [Louise Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-slaughter/) > [The masters say if you create an auspicious condition in your body and your environment then meditation and realization will automatically arise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/the-masters-say-if-you-create-an-auspicious-condition-in-your-body/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [Usually the way I think someone is radicalized is through a personal experience. 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They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-skelton/in-fact-because-of-their-connection-to-the-land-farmers-do-more-to/) [Ike Skelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-skelton/) > [In the 24 hours since this time yesterday, over 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed in our world. Fully 13 million tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/in-the-24-hours-since-this-time-yesterday-over-200-000-acres-of/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [By 2010 computers will disappear. They'll be so small, they'll be embedded in our clothing, in our environment. Images will be written directly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/by-2010-computers-will-disappear-they-ll-be-so-small-they-ll-be/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I want regulation. I want to protect our environment. I want regulations for safety. I want all of the regulations that we need, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-want-regulation-i-want-to-protect-our-environment-i-want/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) ## More by Sam Hamill > [If only we could touch the things of this world at their center, if we could only hear tiny leaves of birch struggling toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/if-only-we-could-touch-the-things-of-this-world-at-their-center-if-we/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I'm basically a poetry scholar, and I'm happier here in my studio with my row of Chinese dictionaries than I am, frankly, at Lincoln…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-m-basically-a-poetry-scholar-and-i-m-happier-here-in-my-studio-with/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [We poets don't tend to be certain a lot. Much of our art is made out of our own uncertainty. And there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/we-poets-don-t-tend-to-be-certain-a-lot-much-of-our-art-is-made-out/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Korea's first Zen Master-poet wrote simple yet elegant poetry of the world he inhabited, both physically and spiritually, and of daily insights-a pause along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/korea-s-first-zen-master-poet-wrote-simple-yet-elegant-poetry-of-the/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [There's a fragment that goes, "Some say the most beautiful thing in the world is a great cavalry riding down over the hill. Others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/there-s-a-fragment-that-goes-some-say-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I think a lot of American poets are swimming-pool Soviets. A lot of them have taken the comfortable, self-protective route too often. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-think-a-lot-of-american-poets-are-swimming-pool-soviets-a-lot-of/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Nothing will change until we demolish the "we-they" mentality. We are human, and therefore all human concerns are ours. And those concerns are personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/nothing-will-change-until-we-demolish-the-we-they-mentality-we-are/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I'm a poet who practices Zen. And it's not, I'm somebody who practices Zen who writes poetry. There's no separation for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-m-a-poet-who-practices-zen-and-it-s-not-i-m-somebody-who-practices/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Kenneth Rexroth took me under his wing for a brief period. I was fifteen years old, and I was smoking a lot of heroin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/kenneth-rexroth-took-me-under-his-wing-for-a-brief-period-i-was/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [One of the things I love about translation is it obliterates the self. When I'm trying to figure out what Tu Fu has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/one-of-the-things-i-love-about-translation-is-it-obliterates-the-self/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [The oldest cliché in the world is about "what's lost in translation," but you don't very often read much intelligent about what's gained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/the-oldest-clich-in-the-world-is-about-what-s-lost-in-translation-but/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [The only thing we all agree on, virtually every poet in this country, is that this Administration is really frightening, and we want something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/the-only-thing-we-all-agree-on-virtually-every-poet-in-this-country/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [George W. Bush is using language that's a mirror image of the language of Osama bin Laden when he says, "We have God on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/george-w-bush-is-using-language-that-s-a-mirror-image-of-the-language/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I would say that my great political awakening was really born on Okinawa, reading Albert Camus: the "Neither Victims nor Executioners" essay and The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-would-say-that-my-great-political-awakening-was-really-born-on/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Just as I wonder whether it's going to die, the orchid blossoms and I can't explain why it moves my heart, why such pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/just-as-i-wonder-whether-it-s-going-to-die-the-orchid-blossoms-and-i/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) [Explore all 40 Sam Hamill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) ## More Compassionate quotes > [“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/) > [More compassionate mind, more sense of concern for other's well-being, is source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/more-compassionate-mind-more-sense-of-concern-for-other-s-well-being/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A hard heart makes for hard judgments; a compassionate heart understands the humanity of the one we presume to judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/a-hard-heart-makes-for-hard-judgments-a-compassionate-heart/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“Seeing human suffering changes you. It either makes you compassionate or it makes you hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wilson-howarth/seeing-human-suffering-changes-you-it-either-makes-you-compassionate/) [Jane Wilson-Howarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wilson-howarth/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [It is not enough to be compassionate, we must act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-enough-to-be-compassionate-we-must-act/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-love-the-idea-of-the-teachings-of-jesus-christ-and-the-beautiful/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [If the photographer is interested in the people in front of his lens, and if he is compassionate, it's already a lot. The instrument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-arnold/if-the-photographer-is-interested-in-the-people-in-front-of-his-lens/) [Eve Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-arnold/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [The logical conclusion to a compassionate and respectful relationship to sentient animals is that we stop eating them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-balcombe/the-logical-conclusion-to-a-compassionate-and-respectful-relationship/) [Jonathan Balcombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-balcombe/) > [Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/nothing-is-more-urgent-than-a-serious-dare-i-say-compassionate-debate/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [“The kindness sent from one compassionate soul to another during the time of loss of one held so dear allows the sorrow-filled heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-friedenfeld/the-kindness-sent-from-one-compassionate-soul-to-another-during-the/) [Molly Friedenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-friedenfeld/) > [A strong person is not meant to be insensitive. He might be compassionate and loving. But, he relentlessly fights for the things he thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-strong-person-is-not-meant-to-be-insensitive-he-might-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,064 Compassionate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassionate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each of us as poets, as decent suffering human beings, has to find a way to run our lives that is compassionate toward one another and toward our environment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Hamill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering-human-beings-has-to-find-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassionate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering-human-beings-has-to-find-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/sam-hamill-16399_compassionate_each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering_399759.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/sam-hamill-16399_compassionate_each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering_399759.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/sam-hamill-16399_compassionate_each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering_399759.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Each of us as poets, as decent suffering human beings, has to find a way to run our lives that is…” — Sam Hamill", "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": "Sam Hamill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Each of us as poets, as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering-human-beings-has-to-find-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/each-of-us-as-poets-as-decent-suffering-human-beings-has-to-find-a/#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 } } ] } ```