I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by them, to be understood and touched by them.
I want you to get excited about who you are, what you are, what you have, and what can still be for you. I want to inspire you to see that you can go far beyond where you are right now.
Our biggest problem as human beings is not knowing that we don’t know.
I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me. I am me, and I am Okay.
Put together all the existing families and you have society. It is as simple as that. Whatever kind of training took place in the individual family will be reflected in the kind of society that these families create.
So much is asked of parents, and so little is given.
Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible – the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.
The recommended daily requirement for hugs is: four per day for survival, eight per day for maintenance, and twelve per day for growth.
I want to appreciate you without judging. Join you without invading. Invite you without demanding. Leave you without guilt.
Adolescents are not monsters. They are just people trying to learn how to make it among the adults in the world, who are probably not so sure themselves.
My dream is to make families a place where adults with high self esteem can develop. I think we have reached a point where if we don’t get busy on dreams of this sort, our end is in sight. We need a world that is as good for human beings as it is for technology.
I give life to that which I notice. What I don’t notice dies.
The full life is filled with vulnerability, not defense. You face whatever feeling there is.
You have all played a significant part in my development of loving. As a result, my life has been rich and full, so I leave feeling very grateful.
A growing body of clinical observation has pointed to the conclusion that the family therapy must be oriented to the family as a whole.
You have learned what you have learned very well. It has helped you survive.
I think if I have one message, one thing before I die that most of the world would know, it would be that the event does not determine how to respond to the event. That is a purely personal matter. The way in which we respond will direct and influence the event more than the event itself.
No one’s fingerprints are exactly the same as anyone else’s.
I know people can change-right down to my bones, through every cell, in every fiber of my body-I now that people can change. It is just a question of when and in what context.
Negotiating the adolescent stage is neither quick nor easy.
Taste everything, but swallow only what fits.