Attention Quote by Simone Weil

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”

Simone Weil

About This Quote

Source Essay: The Need for Roots, 1949

True generosity is giving undivided attention.

In simple terms: Giving attention is generosity.

Key Takeaway

Practice attentive listening.

Themes

generosity attention human connection

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

conversation
teaching
caregiving

Key Concepts

philosophy ethics

Questions to Reflect On

How can you improve your focus on others?
What barriers prevent true attentiveness?

A Different Perspective

Attention can be limited by bias.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.5 out of 5 (7 ratings)

More by Simone Weil

Oppression that is clearly inexorable and invincible does not give rise to revolt but to submission.

Simone Weil

Image

At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…

Simone Weil

Image

One should identify oneself with the universe itself. Everything that is less than the universe is subjected to suffering.

Simone Weil

Image

In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…

Simone Weil

Image

What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it…

Simone Weil

Image

The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell.

Simone Weil

Image

The highest ecstasy is the attention at its fullest.

Simone Weil

Image

To be innocent is to bear the weight of the entire universe. It is to throw away the counterweight.

Simone Weil

Image

Equality is the public recognition, effectively expressed in institutions and manners, of the principle that an equal degree of attention is due to the…

Simone Weil

Image

The entire universe is nothing but a great metaphor.

Simone Weil

Image

A beautiful woman looking at her image in the mirror may very well believe the image is herself. An ugly woman knows it is…

Simone Weil

Image

Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to respect it, is capable of love andjustice.

Simone Weil

Image

Explore all 443 Simone Weil quotes

More Attention quotes

It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…

David Ricardo

Image

People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…

Ardal O'Hanlon

Image

Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…

Joseph Prince

Image

By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…

Deepak Chopra

Image

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.

Henry David Thoreau

Image

What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…

Lzzy Hale

Image

For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…

Jed Diamond

Image

When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…

Minor White