NVC suggests behind every action, however ineffective, tragic, violent, or abhorrent to us, is an attempt to meet a need.

If people just asked: "Here are the needs of both sides, here are the resources. What can be done to meet these needs?" the conflict would be easy to resolve.

With empathy, I'm fully with them, not full of them — that's sympathy.

Fear of corporal punishment obscures children's awareness of the compassion underlying the parent's demands.

Avoid 'shoulding' on others and yourself!

Unless we as social change agents come from a certain spirituality, we're likely to create more harm than good.

When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt, and needed rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion.