The Eyes of Love
In 1821, the 45-year-old English painter John Constable went out on to Hampstead Heath and did something very loving. He set up his easel and looked closely at an elm tree.…
Sociability: Social Virtues
- 01. The Eyes of Love
- 02. Kindness Isn't Weakness
- 03. Why We're All Capable of Damaging Others
- 04. Rembrandt as a Guide to Kindness
- 05. What Love Really Is – and Why It Matters
- 06. The Need for Kindness
- 07. 6 Reasons Not to Worry What the Neighbours Think
- 08. What to Do When a Stranger Annoys You
- 09. How to Choose A Good Present
- 10. How to Be a Good Guest
- 11. How To Make People Feel Good about Themselves
- 12. How To Tell When You Are Being A Bore
- 13. What Is Empathy?
- 14. How Not to Rant
- 15. How Not to Be Boring
- 16. In Praise of Blushing
- 17. On Eggs and Compassion
- 18. How to Become an Adult
- 19. People-Pleasing: and How to Overcome It
- 20. Why Truly Sociable People Hate Parties
- 21. How to Be Diplomatic
- 22. Sane Insanity
- 23. Charity of Interpretation
- 24. How to Be a Good Teacher
- 25. The Solution to Clumsiness
- 26. How to Be a Man
- 27. Political Correctness vs. Politeness
- 28. The Importance of Selfishness
- 29. Aphorisms on Kindness
- 30. Why We Don’t Really Want to Be Nice
- 31. The Charm of Vulnerability
- 32. The Ultimate Test of Your Social Skills
- 33. How to Be Open-Minded
- 34. Why Kind People Always Lie
- 35. How to Be Warm
- 36. The Problem of Over-Friendliness
- 37. How to Forgive
- 38. Why We’re Fated to Be Lonely (But That’s OK)
- 39. How to Cope with Snobbery
- 40. On Charm
- 41. On Being Kind
- 42. On Gratitude
- 43. On Forgiveness
- 44. On Charity
- 45. On Wisdom
Kindness Isn't Weakness
Some of what holds people back from showing greater love is a sense that it would be dangerous and woolly-minded to do so. Too much sensitivity and sweetness, too much tolerance…
Why We're All Capable of Damaging Others
One of the reasons why we may end up acting more destructively and cruelly than we should is that it can take us a long time to fathom how someone like…
Rembrandt as a Guide to Kindness
Born in 1606, Rembrandt became a hugely successful painter when he was still only in his twenties. He earned a fortune and lived a wildly extravagant life. Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait…
What Love Really Is – and Why It Matters
There is so much talk of love in our societies, it would be natural to think that we must by now know what it is and why it counts. Love is…
The Need for Kindness
When we are little, one of the first, and most boring, lessons we ever receive is in the primordial importance of being – as adults put it – ‘kind’. It’s because…