Frederick Buechner Quotes

I love taking people on that journey, which I feel like can open them up to seeing human beings a little more complexly. People that you originally don't like, maybe they have reasons for the way they are, and maybe we can start to understand each other a little better as opposed to being quick to judge and dismiss people.

Be kind. It's worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them. If you allow yourself to be somewhat curious - and if you get into the habit of doing that - it's the first step to being open minded and realizing that your points of view aren't totally opposite.

I just try not to judge. Don't judge me, and I won't judge you.

I try not to pass judgment on anyone, and I wish they wouldn't pass it on me.

Try and understand--there are views other than yours.

When you connect to someone on a human level, and you get to know about them, you can begin to love the things that make them different.

I live my life by these little church signs you see as you drive around, and there's one near me that says, 'If we really knew each other, we would neither idolise nor condemn.' And that's it: if we all knew each other, then we wouldn't treat anybody any different. And there wouldn't be any big stars, I guess.

I hope that people will get to know me and give me the opportunity to get to know them and just respect what I'm doing because I respect how they feel and their thoughts as well.

Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice.

When you connect to someone on a human level, and you get to know about them, you can begin to love the things that make them different. That's when fear dissipates, and that's when we can live the life that we're all supposed to be living.

That really has been my message over the years: 'Hey, we're all in this together, so let's laugh about it a little, please.' It adds perspective to an argument if you know where you're coming from.

If we could truly experience one another, we could end bigotry.

And rather than judging and alienating others, I do think there's an opportunity that no one is taking, myself included, to actually understand why somebody is coming from a certain place.

Acceptance is the truest kinship with humanity.

Empathy is the main thing, putting yourself in somebody else's shoes and trying not to judge.

I think it just came with me evolving as a person and me understanding that it's not right to judge or to say anything derogatory about other people, especially if I don't know them.

Judge not thy friend until thou standest in his place.

To judge someone before understanding that person is a form of human rejection and feeds upon itself. It intensifies personal insecurities, necessitating more judgment (prejudice) and less understanding. The processes continue in this vicious cycle.

We must take our friends as they are.

Everyone has a responsibility to not only tolerate another person's point of view, but also to accept it eagerly as a challenge to your own understanding. And express those challenges in terms of serving other people.

Try to open up your mind a little, and move away from rigid opinions of what people should do and be - unless you have been there.

I've undoubtedly offended people, but in the end, I've learned the people that will understand are the people I want to connect to, anyway.

The older I get, the more open-minded I get, the less judgmental I get.

No human trait deserves less tolerance in everyday life, and gets less, than intolerance.

I tend to see the similarities in people and not the differences.