Barry Hannah Quotes

People who have suffered know more about compassion.

The problem of suffering is not about something but about someone.

You don't want to diminish anybody's pain and suffering.

I speak to people who have been through so much more.

Rather than turning away from the staggering scale and depth of misery caused by war, we must strive to develop our capacity to empathize and feel the sufferings of others.

It's not always easy to stand aside and be unable to do anything except record the sufferings around one.

The moment something happens to one you love, it's twenty times more intense. You experience pain and enlightenment on a much vaster scale.

Since my accident I am a little more mindful of the suffering of other people.

When I hear other people's stories, I like to believe that they contribute to my 'Encyclopedia of Human Experience.' The stories I hear help me expand my definition of what love is, what pain feels like, what sacrifice means, what laughter can do.

I like someone who's suffered from both sides.

Only the tortured can understand those who have been tortured.

It's easy when you have suffered to feel the link with what others have gone through.

I haven't been in the military, but I've known my share of pain. It allows me to sit with someone who's struggling and not be afraid.

I don't think I ever sit there and think to kick a wound harder.

It's a hard thing to find in people: to sit and just be present with someone, even for two minutes.

Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contact and visits, images, sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.

I call it suffering and pain, they call it entertainment.

The man who has not suffered - what does he know anyway?

It is people who go through suffering that have an empathy for the suffering of others.

Every single person has a story that will break your heart. And if you're paying attention, many people... have a story that will bring you to your knees. Nobody rides for free.

You who have suffered so much do not want to be with the kind of person who makes "black widow" jokes to deal with an uncomfortable, painful moment. You should be with a person capable of great compassion and understanding.

In deep pain, people don't need logic, advice, encouragement, or even Scripture. They just need you to show up and shut up.

How much can we ever know about the love and pain in another heart? How much can we hope to understand those who have suffered deeper anguish, greater deprivation, and more crushing disappointments than we ourselves have known?

I fervently wish no misery ever came near anyone; yet it is that alone that gives us an insight into the depths of our lives, does it not? In our moments of anguish, gates barred forever seem to open and let in many a flood of light.

The wisdom that comes from having experienced heartbreak cannot be bequeathed; it can only be gained through experience. And having truly felt it, we are far more likely to have compassion for others. Anything that takes us close to true compassion takes us closer to what will one day be an experience of even greater joy.