Repairing Relationships Quotes

“It’s easier to treat people properly than to repair broken relationships.”
― Frank Sonnenberg, Listen to Your Conscience: That's Why You Have One

“In order to apologize—really apologize, and not just utter some words—for something one has done or failed to do, one has not only to acknowledge responsibility for but express sincere sorrow and regret over this action or inaction. One can apologize only for acts for which one has no excuse. If one has an excuse, there is nothing to apologize for, even if there is something to feel sorry about ('I'm sorry that you are hurt,' even 'I'm sorry that my actions hurt you,' is quite different from 'I'm sorry that I hurt you'). A genuine apology thus involves a rather raw exposure of the apologizer: Having done the deed, one now not only reiterates having done it, but strips away any suggestion that there are extenuating circumstances that could relieve one of blame; it must be clear that he regrets what he has done and feels sorrow over what he was wrought. He doesn't just wish things were otherwise; he fully acknowledges his role in bringing them to this sorry state.”
― Elizabeth V. Spelman, Repair: The Impulse to Restore in a Fragile World

“The Hebrew root tumah (#H2932 hamf) is used to describe the foul state of a caldron before fire has cleansed it. (Ezk 24:11) Ezekiel helps the reader to visualize how intense the process must be to cleanse Jerusalem. Soap and water would be insufficient.
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― Michael Ben Zehabe, Lamentations: how narcissistic leaders torment church and family

“Our marriage—the one we had grown accustomed to for over ten years—was over. But that didn't mean we couldn't start again and build a better marriage.”
― Megan Farison, Dissonance

“...I was reading that, in some cultures, they don't throw away a piece of pottery just because it breaks. They pour gold into the cracks, and the piece is even more beautiful than it was before it broke." He turned his head and stared into me. "You broke our marriage. I'm hoping, after all this, we can end up with something beautiful.”
― Megan Farison, Dissonance