Lao Tzu Quotes

I felt I was owned by possessions.

Possessions are usually diminished by possession.

We humans are more concerned with having than with being.

Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions.

There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.

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

My husband calls me 'throwy-outy' - he's horrified at how easily I dispense with things. People I won't let go of, but things, mementos from shows, I'm not particularly attached to.

Fame of self: Which matters more? Self or wealth: Which is more precious? Gain or loss: Which is more painful?

Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected.... Hoarding is idolatry.

The possession of a great many things, even the best of things, tends to blind one to the real value of anything.

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

The more you own, the more it owns you.

If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.

Great sins are great possessions; but levities and vanities possess us too; and men had rather part with Christ than with any possession.

When you don't have any money, any things, any house - if you are unattached, what is the difficulty in it? But when you have everything and you remain unattached - a beggar in the palace - then something very deep has been attained.

Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner.

I'm not technically rich, but I do have a lot of s**t that I don't need, that I refuse to share with others.

Whatever we treasure for ourselves separates us from others; our possessions are our limitations.

If we understand the dangers of materialism, it will help liberate us to experience the joys of Christ-centered stewardship. Jesus speaks of the "deceitfulness of wealth" . The psalmist warns, "Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them" . The dangers of materialism are far-reaching. We should not think that we're immune to the value-changing nature of wealth.

As adults, if our top priorities are constantly directed toward the acquisition of more and better worldly goods, it will not take long to increase our love in those directions. The purchase of a larger house or a nicer car or a more expensive boat may cause us to sacrifice our resources and develop an unwise love for these symbols of success and pleasure. We learn to love that which we serve, and we serve that which we love.

The things you used to own, now they own you.

This avidity alone, of acquiring goods and possessions for ourselves and our nearest friends, is insatiable, perpetual, universal, and directly destructive of society.

In our rich consumers' civilization we spin cocoons around ourselves and get possessed by our possessions.

No one likes to have less than they had before. That's the nature of the human animal.

We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply our cares. We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties.