Spread the love with inspirational kindness quotes from some of the most influential figures throughout history
48 Powerful Kindness Quotes That Will Stay with You
Updated on Oct. 03, 2024
Quotes about kindness
1. “You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
2. “To extend yourself in kindness to anybody is an extension in kindness in the world.” —Oprah Winfrey
3. “Kindness isn’t a tactic. It’s a command. … Civility and decency aren’t incompatible with ‘taking sides.’ It doesn’t require anyone to fold in the face of angry opposition. Kindness doesn’t conflict with conviction, and our commitments to kindness are biblically inseparable from our commitments to justice. We aren’t to choose between them; we’re to embrace them both.” —David French
4. “The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty and truth.” —Albert Einstein
5. “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” —Princess Diana
6. “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” —Winston Churchill
7. “It doesn’t cost me anything to be kind.” —Paddington
8. “Generosity and kind words, Conduct for others’ welfare, Impartiality in all things; These are suitable everywhere.” —Buddha
9. “If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.” —Lao-Tzu
10. “Never refuse to do a kindness unless the act would work great injury to yourself.” —Mark Twain
11. “Being kind means responding to the needs of others—and people can be kind, no matter how old or young they are.” —Fred Rogers
Be kind quotes
12. “Compassion isn’t about solutions. It’s about giving all the love that you’ve got.” —Cheryl Strayed
13. “A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.” —Joseph Joubert
14. “That is what compassion does. It challenges our assumptions, our sense of self-limitation, worthlessness, of not having a place in the world, our feelings of loneliness and estrangement. These are narrow, constrictive states of mind. As we develop compassion, our hearts open.” —Sharon Salzberg
15. “Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.” —Charles Glassman
16. “We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer
17. “Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.” —George Sand
18. “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” —Jackie Chan
19. “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace and a soul generated by love.” —Coretta Scott King
20. “Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.” —William Makepeace Thackeray
21. “What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” —Jean-Jacques Rousseau
22. “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the figure of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt
23. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” —Edith Wharton
24. “We will develop and cultivate the liberation of mind by lovingkindness, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it.” —Buddha
Kindness quotes for kids
25. “We rise by lifting others.” —Robert Ingersoll
26. “Kindness teaches gratitude.” —Jay Shetty
27. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” —Mahatma Gandhi
28. “To kindness and love, the things we need most!” —The Grinch
29. “Be a little kinder than you have to.” —E. Lockhart
30. “Kindness is always in stock.” —Katy Perry
31. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” —Maya Angelou
32. “If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.” —Lucy Larcom
33. “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” —John Templeton
34. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
35. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” —Aesop
36. “Where there is kindness there is goodness, and where there is goodness there is magic.” —Disney’s Cinderella
37. “Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” —Henry James
Be kind to yourself quotes
38. “Be kind to yourself, to others and everything around you.” —Alexandra Stoddard
39. “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” —Jack Kornfield
40. “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” —Kathryn Stockett, The Help
41. “You’ve been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” —Louise L. Hay
42. “Be kind to yourself so that you can be happy enough to be kind to the world.” —Misha Collins
43. “What we say to ourselves in the privacy of our own minds matters.” —Marie Forleo
44. “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” —Anonymous
45. “Be kind to others, so that you may learn the secret art of being kind to yourself.” —Paramahansa Yogananda
Kindness quotes about animals
46. “Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.” —Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality
47. “True compassion is showing kindness towards animals, without expecting anything in return.” —Paul Oxton
48. “Life is as dear to mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.” —The Dalai Lama
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite quotes for over 100 years. The sayings and quips that appear in the magazine’s “Quotable Quotes” (formerly “Remarkable Remarks”) are curated from interviews and essays originally published in the magazine, reprints from trusted titles and other verified sources. For this piece on kindness quotes, Marissa Laliberte tapped her experience as a lifestyle editor for Reader’s Digest to ensure that all information is accurate. We’ve gone the extra step and had Ambrose Martose, a fact-checker with 20-plus years of experience researching for national publications including National Geographic Adventure and Popular Mechanics, verify that all quotes are attributed correctly and have credible sourcing. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
