165 Self Compassion Quotes

Following is our list of self compassion quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about loving compassion.

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Famous Self Compassion Quotes

Self-compassion - being supportive and kind to yourself, especially in the face of stress and failure - is associated with more motivation and better self-control. — Kelly McGonigal

Self-compassion is key because when we're able to be gentle with ourselves in the midst of shame, we're more likely to reach out, connect, and experience empathy. — Brené Brown

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. — Jack Kornfield

Compassion for ourselves gives rise to the power to transform resentment into forgiveness, hatred into friendliness, and fear into respect for all beings. — Jack Kornfield

In deep self acceptance, grows a compassionate understanding. — Sayings

With self-acceptance, we have the ability to choose compassion and forgiveness over anger and self-hatred. — Michelle Cruz

It is lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others. If we make friends with ourselves, then there is no obstacle to opening our hearts and minds to others. — Dalai Lama

Bring acceptance and compassionate self-talk. Say nice things to yourself - you're the only one listening. Tell yourself, I am doing the best I can. — Gabrielle Bernstein

What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion: for yourself and for those around you. — Lupita Nyong'o

Self-forgiveness is essential to self-healing. — Ruth Carter Stapleton

If you don't love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not able of developing compassion for others. — Dalai Lama

By regarding ourselves with kindness, we begin to dissolve the identity of an isolated, deficient self. This creates the grounds for including others in an unconditionally loving heart. — Tara Brach

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affectionBuddha

Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others. — Wilferd Peterson

Do not judge yourself harshly. Without mercy for ourselves we cannot love the world. — Buddha

Short Self Compassion Quotes

  • Be kind to yourself so you can be happy enough to be kind to the world. — Misha Collins
  • When we practice loving kindness and compassion we are the first ones to profit. — Rumi
  • Loving yourself isn't vanity. it's sanity. — Katrina Mayer
  • If one is cruel to himself, how can we expect him to be compassionate with others? — Hasdai ibn Shaprut
  • If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. — Dalai Lama
Self compassion quote Maturity is learning to walk away from people and situation that threaten your peace of mind, self r
Maturity is learning to walk away from people and situation that threaten your peace of mind, self respect, values, morals and self worth.

Compassion For Yourself Quotes

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. — Lao Tzu

Self-care is never a selfish act - it is only good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. — Parker J. Palmer

Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion. - Buddha

Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion. — Buddha

Self compassion quote We are what we believe we are.
We are what we believe we are.

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. — Buddha

You can't eat beauty, it doesn't sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion, for yourself and those around you. That kind of beauty inflamed the heart and merchants the soul. — Lupita Nyong'o

If you want to do your best for future generations of humanity, for your friends and family, you must begin by taking good care of yourself. — Tarthang Tulku

Self compassion quote A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compas
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.

So many of us start along the spiritual path because we are suffering. But you must realize that for real healing to occur, there must first be deep compassion for yourself, especially the parts of yourself you dislike or consider ugly. — Pema Chodron

Have respect for yourself, and patience and compassion. With these, you can handle anything. — Jack Kornfield

Ease up on yourselves. Have some compassion for yourself as well as for others. There's no such thing as perfection, and life is not a race. — Sayings

It is foolish for you not to have mercy on those who offend you because you are only withholding mercy from yourself. — Enoch Adeboye

Loving Compassion Quotes

Listen with ears of tolerance! See through the eyes of compassion! Speak with the language of love — Rumi

Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to them whenever they require it. — Francis of Assisi

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

True happiness comes from having a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved by cultivating altruism, love and compassion, and by eliminating anger, selfishness and greed. — Dalai Lama

The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man. — Charles Darwin

The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there? — Jack Kornfield

A heart full of love and compassion is the main source of inner strength, willpower, happiness, and mental tranquility — Dalai Lama

Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. — Thomas Jefferson

Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom. — Rumi

Let's get loose with Compassion. Let's drown in the delicious ambience of Love. — Hafez

Compassionate Love Quotes

You can't go to Heaven hating somebody. Forgive now. Be compassionate now. Be patient now. Be grateful now. Love Jesus and Mary now. Accept God's will now. — Mother Angelica

The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone...we must be compassionate! — Josephine Bakhita

If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today... The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone... we must be compassionate! — Josephine Bakhita

Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate. — Rick Warren

Don’t wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly... lead the way! — Steve Maraboli

With the beginning of a great & compassionate love, comes the growth of one's heart, and with that, a profound inner change. The way to opening the mind is often first through the heart. And once is the mind & heart are open, so many things become possible. — Irwin Corey

Frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action. — Desmond Tutu

Love has an immense ability to help heal the devastating wounds that life sometimes deals us. Love also enhances our sense of connection to the larger world. Loving responsiveness is the foundation of a truly compassionate, civilized society. — Sue Johnson

We continually encounter hardships. People disappoint us. We disappoint ourselves. But God is constant and compassionate. We are not alone. He cares. Against all reason, the transcendent God loves us so much that He has committed Himself to us. — Charles R. Swindoll

If one calls upon Him repeatedly, He becomes compassionate; and so a devoted attachment comes into being. This love for love's sake should be hidden from all eyes. — Sarada Devi

Being Compassionate Quotes

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. — George Washington Carver

Be confident. Be compassionate. Be intelligent. Be humble. Be generous. The universe returns to you what you put out. — Lauren Jauregui

When life is good do not take it for granted as it will pass. Be mindful, be compassionate and nurture the circumstances that find you in this good time so it will last longer. When life falls apart always remember that this too will pass. Life will have its unexpected turns. — Ajahn Brahm

Some people have a thick skin and you don’t. Your heart is really open and that is going to cause pain, but that is an appropriate response to this world. The cost is high, but the blessing of being compassionate is beyond your wildest dreams. — Anne Lamott

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. — Unknown Author

We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free. — Kavita Ramdas

Life is short. Time is fleeting. Realize the Self. Purity of the heart is the gateway to God. Aspire. Renounce. Meditate. Be good; do good. Be kind; be compassionate. Inquire, know Thyself. — Sivananda

Today, as we wish each other a Happy New Year, let us determine to be more sincere, compassionate, warm-hearted human beings, trying to make our world a more equal place. That way we'll actually make it a happy year. — Dalai Lama

A revolution is coming – a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough – but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability. — John F. Kennedy

Don’t hope for better. Just be better. Be something better. Be more compassionate, more resilient, more humble, more disciplined. — Mark Manson

Love And Compassion Quotes

One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion. — Simone de Beauvoir

Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things. - Thomas Merton

Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things. — Thomas Merton

I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion--and where it isn't, that's where my work lies. — Ram Dass

A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. — Amelia Earhart

Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love. — Jane Goodall

All meditation must begin with arousing deep compassion. Whatever one does must emerge from an attitude of love and benefitting others. — Milarepa

To be completely woman you need a master, and in him a compass for your life. You need a man you can look up to and respect. If you dethrone him it's no wonder that you are discontented, and discontented women are not loved for long. — Marlene Dietrich

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. — Nhat Hanh

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. — Dalai Lama

Now is the time to understand That all your ideas of right and wrong Were just a child's training wheelsTo be laid aside When you finally live With veracity And love. — Hafez

Self-love Quotes

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately. - Henry David Thoreau

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately. — Henry David Thoreau

Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways. — Sigmund Freud

You weren't an accident. You weren't mass produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman. — Max Lucado

I wish I could show you...the astonishing light of your own being. - Hafez

I wish I could show you...the astonishing light of your own being. — Hafez

Trust yourself. Think for yourself. Act for yourself. Speak for yourself. Be yourself. Imitation is suicide. — Marva Collins

When people appear to be something other than good and decent, it is only because they are reacting to stress, pain, or the deprivation of basic human needs such as security, love, and self-esteem. — Abraham Maslow

If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars. — Rabindranath Tagore

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. - Kahlil Gibran

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. — Kahlil Gibran

Hunger, love, pain, fear are some of those inner forces which rule the individual's instinct for self preservation. — Albert Einstein

The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. — Ernest Hemingway

Compassion For Others Quotes

The revolution and women's liberation go together. We do not talk of women's emancipation as an act of charity or out of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the revolution to triumph. Women hold up the other half of the sky. — Thomas Sankara

Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. - Booker T. Washington

Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. — Booker T. Washington

The challenge today is to convince people of the value of truth, honesty, compassion and a concern for others. — Dalai Lama

Compassion is not sympathy. Compassion is mercy. It is a commitment to take responsibility for the suffering of others. — Joan D. Chittister

The wisdom and compassion a woman can intuitively experience in childbirth can make her a source of healing and understanding for other women. — Stephen Gaskin

Activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet. - Alice Walker

Activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet. — Alice Walker

Don’t burden others with your expectations. Understanding their limitations can inspire compassion instead of disappointment, ensuring beneficial and workable relationships. Remember that you have only a short time together. Be grateful for each day you share. — Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. — Dalai Lama

It's time for greatness - not for greed. It's a time for idealism - not ideology. It is a time not just for compassionate words, but compassionate action. — Marian Wright Edelman

When we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings. — Sogyal Rinpoche

Compassion And Empathy Quotes

It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul. — Desmond Tutu

The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy. — Meryl Streep

When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you. — Susan Sarandon

The functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion and empathy. — Dean Koontz

By peace we mean the capacity to transform conflicts with empathy, without violence, and creatively- a never-ending process — Johan Galtung

When you turn your back on the voices of those who are in pain and who are angry, you breed hate. Love is the way out, not hate. — Lex Fridman

True connection can happen without words. It just requires our attention, empathy and compassion. — Rangan Chatterjee

Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives. — Oprah Winfrey

How many of us can honestly say that we have plumbed the depths of our minds and hearts? How many of us regularly listen to ourselves with empathy and understanding – in the supportive way that a trusted friend can? — William Ury

We deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise. — Elliot Page

Human Compassion Quotes

The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others. — Albert Schweitzer

For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed? — Bell Hooks

A really great man is known by three signs: generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success. — Otto von Bismarck

More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. — Charlie Chaplin

Compassion constitutes a radical form of criticism, for it announces that the hurt is to be taken seriously, that the hurt is not to be accepted as normal and natural, but is an abnormal and unacceptable condition for humanness. — Walter Brueggemann

Compassion makes no distinction between friends and enemies, neighbors and outsiders, compatriots and foreigners. Compassion is the gate to human community. — Joan D. Chittister

Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. We are civilization’s anchor. We are the compass for humanity’s conscience. — Harry Belafonte

As custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love, and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help to stop this madness. — Richard Gere

A robin redbreast in a cage Puts all heaven in a rage. - William Blake

A robin redbreast in a cage Puts all heaven in a rage. — William Blake

These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness. — Anthony De Mello

Compassion Cultivation Quotes

Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked. — Patanjali

Violence is not the answer, it doesn’t work any more. We are at the end of the worst century in which the greatest atrocities in the history of the world have occurred... The nature of human beings must change. We must cultivate love and compassion. — Martin Scorsese

I don't know if it is a spiritual, physiological or psychological phenomenon, but I believe now more than ever that singing is a universal, built-in mechanism designed to cultivate empathy and compassion. — Eric Whitacre

Like a mother who protects her child, her only child, with her own life, one should cultivate a heart of unlimited love and compassion towards all living beings. — Buddha

Don't shut down your emotions. Embrace them. Your emotions are your internal compass telling you whether or not you are on track. Use them to help cultivate your passions or motivate you to change situations and circumstances that hold you back from achieving your goals. — Jillian Michaels

The more compassionate you are, the more generous you can be. The more generous you are, the move loving friendliness you cultivate to help the world. — Nhat Hanh

Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. — Dalai Lama

One can overcome the forces of negative emotions, like anger and hatred, by cultivating their counter-forces, like love and compassion. — Dalai Lama

We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking - while cultivating power and clarity in response to difficult situations. — Sharon Salzberg

Mindfulness is about love and loving life. When you cultivate this love, it gives you clarity and compassion for life, and your actions happen in accordance with that. All ethics and morality, and a sense of interconnectedness, come out of the act of paying attention. — Jon Kabat-Zinn

People Writing About Self Compassion

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Read quotes by Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama
quotes on life, love and kindness

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Read quotes by Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield
quotes on gratitude, love

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Read quotes by Buddha

Buddha
quotes on peace, peace of mind and death

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Read quotes by Kelly McGonigal

Kelly McGonigal
quotes on education, happiness and love

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Read quotes by Brené Brown

Brené Brown

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Read quotes by Sayings

Sayings

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More Self Compassion Quotes

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. - Wendy Mass quote

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. — Wendy Mass

It's not your job to like me - it's mine - Byron Katie quote

It's not your job to like me - it's mine — Byron Katie

I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion — Kurt Hahn

Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. — Audre Lorde

Rather than flog yourself over a slip, embrace it as simply an integral part of the process of change. Punish yourself and you’ve just made a second mistake – because holding yourself to an unrealistic standard... is a pattern that can lead to defeatism. A shame spiral that can take you out of the game altogether. And the game is all about long-term sustainability over short-term temporary gains. — Rich Roll

The more we learn to treat ourselves with respect and compassion, the more we remind our brains that we are enough in who we are. — Rangan Chatterjee

Whenever I allow anything but tenderness and compassion to dictate my response to life--be it self-righteous anger, moralizing, defensiveness, the pressing need to change others...I am alienated from my true self. My identity as Abba's child [a child of God] becomes ambiguous, tentative and confused — Brennan Manning

Real success requires respect for and faithfulness to the highest human values-honesty, integrity, self-discipline, dignity, compassion, humility, courage, personal responsibility, courtesy, and human service. — Michael E. DeBakey

If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, of self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God's name, it was bad theology. — Karen Armstrong

We experience ourselves our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. — Albert Einstein

Self-judgment may be the greatest barrier to self-understanding. If we want to understand other human beings, there is no better way than to listen to them with empathy like a close friend would. If you wish to understand yourself, the same rule applies: listen with empathy. Instead of talking negatively to yourself, try to listen to yourself with respect and positive attention. Instead of judging yourself, accept yourself just as you are. — William Ury

Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance. — Tara Brach

I think of veganism humbly and holistically. It's about taking personal responsibility in a world so full of needless suffering. It's challenging one's self to open one's eyes and question society's assumptions and habits. It's about critical thinking and compassion and how we would like to see the world evolve. — Michael Greger

Many people are unhappy and are not experiencing life to its fullest because they’ve closed their hearts to compassion, they are motivated by only what they want and what they think they need. They rarely do anything for anybody else unless they have an ulterior goal in mind. They are self-involved and self-centered. — Joel Osteen

There have been many people for whom limitations, failure, loss, or pain in whatever form turned out to be their greatest teacher. It taught them to let go of false self-images and superficial ego-dictated goals and desires. It gave them depth, humility and compassion. It made them more real. — Eckhart Tolle

Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship to myself. — Nathaniel Branden

Toxic traits attract toxic people. If you don’t respect yourself, nobody will. If you don’t love yourself, you’ll be hard to love. Respect, compassion, and love. If you want to attract someone that will treat you like this, you have to start treating yourself like this first. — Steven Bartlett

Stop expecting more from yourself than the best you can do. — Steven Bartlett

Every January, millions adopt a harsh deprivation-restriction mindset and begin punishing themselves, physically and mentally. Yes, harsh tactics can work for a few weeks. But the reason they don't tend to last is because they come from a place of lack, not from a place of love. — Rangan Chatterjee

To act out of desperation is to act out of instinct. To let oneself get to that point however, is to ignore self-preservation. — Isaac Mashman

Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art....It is a privilege to be alive in this time when we can choose to take part in the self-healing of our world. — Joanna Macy

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and his feelings as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. — Albert Einstein

Instead of educating the I.Q., we need to educate the H.Q., the heart quotient, the matters of truth, love, justice, and compassion. There are two ways to do this. One is through the read life experiences and the other is through literature. Literature has the power to take us outside ourselves and returns to ourselves a changed self. — Jim Trelease

Healing the self means committing ourselves to a wholehearted willingness to be what and how we are-beings frail and fragile, strong and passionate, neurotic and balanced, diseased and whole, partial and complete, stingy and generous, twisted and straight, storm-tossed and quiescent, bound and free. — Paula Gunn Allen

You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. — Bindi Irwin

Change is possible, but it must start with self-acceptance. — Alexander Lowen

As Jesus explained, the right things have to die so the right things can live--we die to selfishness, greed, power, accumulation, prestige, and self-preservation, giving life to community, generosity, compassion, mercy, brotherhood, kindness, and love. The gospel will die in the toxic soil of self. — Sayings

We must each lead a way of life with self-awareness and compassion, to do as much as we can. Then, whatever happens we will have no regrets. — Dalai Lama

A person experiences life as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. Our task must be to free ourselves from this self-imposed prison, and through compassion, to find the reality of Oneness. — Albert Einstein

Lack of forgiveness causes almost all of our self-sabotaging behavior. — Mark Victor Hansen

Yoga stimulates different nerves in your body, especially the Vagus nerve that carries information from the brain to most of the body's major organs, slows everything down and allows self-regulation. It's the nerve that is associated with the parasympathetic system and emotions like love, joy and compassion. — Deepak Chopra

Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion. — Suzan-Lori Parks

Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort. — Deborah Day

Compassion, tolerance, forgiveness and a sense of self-discipline are qualities that help us lead our daily lives with a calm mind — Dalai Lama

Lighten up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness. — Deborah Day

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