Regardless of our many differences, we all have the same needs. What differs is the strategy for fulfilling these needs.

Some people use NVC to respond compassionately to themselves, some to create greater depth in their personal relationships, and still others to build effective relationships at work or in the political arena. Worldwide, NVC is used to mediate disputes and conflicts at all levels.

Thinking based on who deserves what blocks compassionate communication.

Once you can clearly describe what you are reacting to, free of your interpretation or evaluation of it, other people are less likely to be defensive when they hear it.

Empathy before education.

My ultimate goal is to spend as many of my moments in life as I can in that world that the poet Rumi talks about, 'a place beyond rightness and wrongness.

Understanding the other persons' needs does not mean you have to give up on your own needs.