Bassem

“Empathy isn't just something that happens to us - a meteor shower of synapses firing across the brain - it's also a choice we make: to pay attention, to extend ourselves. It's made of exertion, that dowdier cousin of impulse. Sometimes we care for another because we know we should, or because it's asked for, but this doesn't make our caring hollow. This confession of effort chafes against the notion that empathy should always rise unbidden, that genuine means the same thing as unwilled, that intentionality is the enemy of love. But I believe in intention and I believe in work. I believe in waking up in the middle of the night and packing our bags and leaving our worst selves for our better ones.”
― Leslie Jamison, The Empathy Exams

“ما زلت أؤمن
أن الانسان لا يموت دفعة واحدة
وإنما يموت بطريقة الأجزاء
كلما رحل صديق مات جزء
وكلما غادرنا حبيب مات جزء
وكلما قُتل حلم من أحلامنا مات جزء
فيأتي الموت الأكبر ليجد كل الأجزاء ميتة
فيحملها ويرحل”
― جبران خليل جبران

“People are supossed to aspire to become their fathers, not shudder at the thought.”
― Veronica Roth, Allegiant

“She was almost in love with him. No, that’s impossible, she thought: either you are or you aren’t. Love’s the only thing in this world that is unequivocal. There are different kinds of love, certainly, but it’s a you-do or you-don’t proposition with them all." (Chapter 1)”
― Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchman