the.com/tenderheartedness
The rare strength of staying soft in a world that rewards calluses.
means The quality of being easily moved by compassion, tenderness, and concern for others' suffering.
from A transparent English compound: 'tender' (soft, delicate) + 'heart' + the noun-making '-ness.' 'Tender' comes through Old French 'tendre' from Latin 'tener,' meaning soft, young, delicate — the same root that gives us 'tendril.' The heart has stood as the seat of feeling in English for as long as the language has existed. So the word literally describes a heart kept soft — the metaphor doing all the quiet work.
- vagus nerve
- Compassion triggers a measurable warm chest tug
- survival edge
- Empathy helped early humans outlast lone tough guys
- infectious
- Witnessing kindness makes onlookers more generous too
- not weakness
- Soldiers and nurses run on it daily
mr rogers neighborhood — fred rogers hosted a children's tv show for 33 years (1968-2001) known for teaching empathy and kindness
saint teresa of calcutta — mother teresa worked with the poorest in calcutta, india for 45 years founding missionaries of charity
nicholas winton — british stockbroker saved 669 children from nazi-occupied czechoslovakia during world war ii