Ilyasah Shabazz Quotes

If there's one thing I've learned about women, which I try to pass on to my boys, it's listening. Listen to the other side of the story first.

You can’t hate someone whose story you know.

You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story.

It occurred to me that everyone’s story matters to themselves, so the more I listened, the more she wanted to talk.

There is some truth in everything. Views and opinions are different aspects. Do not quarrel with others.

We have to listen to other people's stories. That's the thing. And that's the only way that we eventually get to know ourselves.

Communication starts with the understanding that there is my point of view (my truth) and someone else's point of view (his truth). Rarely is there one absolute truth, so people who believe that they speak the truth are very silencing of others.

Empathy is the most mysterious transaction that the human soul can have, and it's accessible to all of us, but we have to give ourselves the opportunity to identify, to plunge ourselves in a story where we see the world from the bottom up or through another's eyes or heart.

So I wanted to explore all points of view of that, not just the girl's but his point of view as well. Only by directing it could I explore all the points of view.

As soon as you think you know someone else's truth better than they do, you are in deep water.

The older you get, the more you are aware that everybody has a certain way of seeing things, which they have to honour.

One of the reasons I write is to be in other people's skin.

There are always two or three or four sides to every story.

I think there's an ongoing effort involved in trying to get a bigger perspective, trying to let go of things that limit your capacity to love and be loved or your capacity to hear and to really speak.

It's presumptuous to say you know how somebody feels.

It's often difficult to get perspective on your own stories, on your own experiences, without talking them through with someone who is genuinely interested in thinking about them. And that's the key.

I can't form a total picture of things. Because I'm not her.

A memoir is always the most authentic telling of a situation, but a novel gets to different places.

A memoir is my version of events. My perspective. I choose what to tell and what to omit. I choose the adjectives to describe a situation, and in that sense, I'm creating a form of fiction.

Books teach children to see the world through the eyes of others and empathise with others. It's about the story.

Truth comes to us mediated by human love.

It's very easy to be judgmental until you know someone's truth.

Do not forget that others won’t see the problems the way you look at or vice versa.

We are seekers of the truth, but we do not embody the truth. And in humility, we should recognize that the same can be said about our most ardent foes.