A Way of Being
Carl R. Rogers
Top 10 Best Quotes
“People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. When I look at a sunset, I don't find myself saying, "Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner." I don't try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.”
“To be with another in this [empathic] way means that for the time being, you lay aside your own views and values in order to enter another's world without prejudice. In some sense it means that you lay aside your self; this can only be done by persons who are secure enough in themselves that they know they will not get lost in what may turn out to be the strange or bizarre world of the other, and that they can comfortably return to their own world when they wish. Perhaps this description makes clear that being empathic is a complex, demanding, and strong - yet subtle and gentle - way of being.”
“I regret it when I suppress my feelings too long and they burst forth in ways that are distorted or attacking or hurtful.”
“It is so obvious when a person is not hiding behind a facade but is speaking from deep within himself.”
“When you are in psychological distress and someone really hears you without passing judgement on you, without trying to take responsibility for you, without trying to mold you, it feels damn good!”
“I am isolated. I sit in a glass ball, I see people through a glass wall. I scream, but they do not hear me. - Ellen West”
“When I look at a sunset as I did the other evening, I don’t find myself saying, “Soften the orange a little on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base, and use a little more pink in the cloud color.” I don’t do that. I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds. I like myself best when I can appreciate my staff member, my son, my daughter, my grandchildren, in this same way. I believe this is a somewhat Oriental attitude; for me it is a most satisfying one.”
“I like to think of myself as a quiet revolutionary.”
“I find it very satisfying when I can be real, when I can be close to whatever it is that is going on within me. I like it when I can listen to myself. To really know what I am experiencing in the moment is by no means an easy thing, but I feel somewhat encouraged because I think that over the years I have been improving at it.”
“The strongest force in our universe is not overriding power, but love.”
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Book Keywords:
power, self-understanding, regret, empathy, longing, repression, love, isolation, being-understood, loneliness, hearing, understanding, self-awareness, relationship, inspirational, listening, alienation, separation