--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When compassion wakes up in us, we find…" description: "\"When compassion wakes up in us, we find ourselves more willing to become vulnerable, to take the risk of entering the pain of others.\" — Sue Monk Kidd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sue-monk-kidd-404_compassion_when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-o_526763.png" --- # When compassion wakes up in us, we find ourselves more… ![“When compassion wakes up in us, we find ourselves more willing to become vulnerable, to take the risk of entering the pain of others.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sue-monk-kidd-404_compassion_when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-o_526763.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sue-monk-kidd-404_compassion_when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-o_526763.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sue-monk-kidd-404_compassion_when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-o_526763.png) > “When compassion wakes up in us, we find ourselves more willing to become vulnerable, to take the risk of entering the pain of others.” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion opens us to vulnerability, allowing us to share in others' pain. **In simple terms:** Compassion invites vulnerability. Key Takeaway Embrace compassionate risk. Themes compassion vulnerability connection Mood empathetic hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - community building - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries protect self while caring? - How does vulnerability strengthen relationships? A Different Perspective May be emotionally taxing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Wakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-wakes-4433978/) [Entering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entering/) [Entering Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entering-pain-4433979/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerable/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [Willing Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-vulnerable-778662/) ## Related quotes > [Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/those-who-are-willing-to-be-vulnerable-move-among-mysteries/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I love when you get to work with people you know because there's so much more trust, and you're much more willing to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malin-akerman/i-love-when-you-get-to-work-with-people-you-know-because-there-s-so/) [Malin Akerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malin-akerman/) > [“I’ve realized the most effective writing and living are done when we are willing to be vulnerable. I think we spend most of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kiesler/i-ve-realized-the-most-effective-writing-and-living-are-done-when-we/) [Katie Kiesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kiesler/) > [“He threw her a crooked grin as he removed his shirt completely, revealing a torso that seemed too perfectly muscular and finely honed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/he-threw-her-a-crooked-grin-as-he-removed-his-shirt-completely/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [When you're willing to be vulnerable, you can surprise yourself at how strong you can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-van-ness/when-you-re-willing-to-be-vulnerable-you-can-surprise-yourself-at-how/) [Jonathan Van Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-van-ness/) > [My best advice would be that you have to be vulnerable with each other. Like, everyone says you have to be honest, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-best-advice-would-be-that-you-have-to-be-vulnerable-with-each/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We know the 65-point policy points, to the extent that they exist, but is Hillary Clinton willing to be vulnerable, is she willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/we-know-the-65-point-policy-points-to-the-extent-that-they-exist-but/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [God is teaching me to really just take small increments towards Him every single day. One thing about Jesus. He's always walking towards us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameis-winston/god-is-teaching-me-to-really-just-take-small-increments-towards-him/) [Jameis Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameis-winston/) > [“I know. I know that you would never take advantage of me like that. 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You have to wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/what-s-wrong-with-living-in-a-dream-world-you-have-to-wake-up/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [One of those blocks (that prevent the 'Middle East from entering the mainstream of modernity') is the orthodox tenet that the Koran and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-beichman/one-of-those-blocks-that-prevent-the-middle-east-from-entering-the/) [Arnold Beichman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-beichman/) > [I love trade magazines - any trade's magazine: by entering into what is taken for granted in a world not your own, you better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/i-love-trade-magazines-any-trade-s-magazine-by-entering-into-what-is/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. 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It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. 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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/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When compassion wakes up in us, we find ourselves more willing to become vulnerable, to take the risk of entering the pain of others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sue Monk Kidd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-ourselves-more-willing-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-ourselves-more-willing-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sue-monk-kidd-404_compassion_when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-o_526763.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sue-monk-kidd-404_compassion_when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-o_526763.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/sue-monk-kidd-404_compassion_when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-o_526763.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When compassion wakes up in us, we find ourselves more willing to become vulnerable, to take the risk of…” — Sue Monk Kidd", "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": "Sue Monk Kidd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When compassion wakes up in us,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-ourselves-more-willing-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-compassion-wakes-up-in-us-we-find-ourselves-more-willing-to/#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 } } ] } ```