Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes

Sometimes it's better to look at things than own them... owning means anxiety and lots of bags to carry around.

I don't like to attach myself to material things.

We think we own things, but the reality is, our things own us.

The richer you are, the more worries you have - problems of security, future. Whatsoever you have, you have to hold it. You have to hold it against others because they are constantly watching for a right opportunity to take it back. Whatsoever you hold, you hold out of violence. And of course, if you have been violent then others can be violent to you. They are just waiting for the right moment. The richer you get, the more worries, more problems, more fears you have. Who bothers, if one is happy?

We are afraid of losing what we have.

The more objects you set your heart upon, the more thorns there are to tear your peace of mind to shreds.

Paines to get, care to keep, feare to lose.

It's not hard to own something. Or everything. You just have to know that it's yours, and then be willing to let it go.

The more you own, the more it owns you.

I want to feel that I own things.

Worry is a mean-faced dwarf who beats on your heart like a kettledrum.

Freedom without security portends chaos, perpetual anxiety and fear.

you seem to grieve for what is not so ... and there is no need to let your heart run ahead into evils that may never come.

Anything you think you "must have" usually comes to own you.

Love is about letting go of the fears that stand in front of our hearts.

We truly possess only what we are able to renounce; otherwise, we are simply possessed by our possessions.

Softly and kindly remind yourself, ''I cannot own anything.'' It is a valuable thought to keep in mind as you struggle to improve your financial picture, worry about investments, and plan how to acquire more and more. It is a universal principle which you are part of. You must release everything when you truly awaken. Are you letting your life go by in frustration and worry over not having enough? If so, relax and remember that you only get what you have for a short period of time. When you awaken you will see the folly of being attached to anything.

Anxiety is experiencing failure in advance. Tell yourself enough vivid stories about the worst possible outcome of your work and you'll soon come to believe them. Worry is not preparation, and anxiety doesn't make you better.

That which most concerns and worries you - your survival - is the only certainty you have.

I just don't want you to worry about me, or think you've met me, or waste your time anymore.

All things that a man owns hold him far more than he holds them.

You have found that you were more secure before you accumulated so much. See what greed has imposed on you: You have filled your house and now you fear burglars. You have hoarded money and lost sleep. See what greed has commanded you: "Do this!" And you did it.

Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose any sentimental associations. Perhaps pawning our valuables frees us in the same way a house fire destroys not only our worldly goods, but our attachment to what's gone.

But that's how it is when you start wanting to have things. Now, I just look at them, and when I go away I carry them in my head. Then my hands are always free, because I don't have to carry a suitcase.