In order to strengthen and nurture our relationships with other people, it's important the we treat caring as an essential skill. It can also be foundation of how *we* react to the world around us.
This list of five qualities is taken from Joan Tronto 
's work on the Ethics of Care in *Moral Boundaries*, and *Caring Democracy*.
1. *Attentiveness — caring about*. The first phase is to notice there are unmet needs. Instead of focusing on your self-interest, take the perspective of the one in need. 2. *Responsibility — caring for*. Someone needs to take on the burden of meeting those needs. 3. *Competence — care giving*. Assuming responsibility is not the same as doing the actual work. One must be competent to care. 4. *Responsiveness — care receiving*. Observing the response of the one receiving cared, and make judgements: was it sufficient? was it successful? was it complete? 5. *Plurality — caring with*. Caring is something we need to do together, with communication, trust, and respect.