Sublime

The Germans (of course) have a word for it: herzensbildung, training one’s heart to see the full humanity in another.

the hallmark of a civil debate is when you can acknowledge that which is good in the position of the person you disagree with.

person speaks until you can say what you have to say. I like the language Rachel Naomi Remen uses with young doctors to describe what they should practice: “generous listening.” Generous listening is powered by curiosity, a virtue we can invite and nurture in ourselves to render it instinctive. It involves a kind of vulnerability—a willingness to b

I have an interest in trying to find a way that I can honor some of their values without giving up mine. That’s, for me, what has happened.

if we haven’t welcomed our own weakness?

To understand and be understood, those are among life’s greatest gifts, and every interaction is an opportunity to exchange them.