Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it.

About Laozi

Portrait of Laozi

Laozi (variously spelled; , low-TSUH; Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ) is the name traditionally given to an ancient Chinese philosopher, also identified as Li Er or Lao Dan, who is regarded as the author or originating teacher associated with the Tao Te Ching (Pinyin: Dào Dé Jīng), one of the foundational...

More quotations from Laozi

The more laws and order are made prominent,
The more thieves and robbers there will be.

His priority did not seem to be to teach them what he knew, but rather to impress upon them that nothing, not even… knowledge, was foolproof.

Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of happiness.

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.

simplicity desire plainness

Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied.

More quotations tagged with “possessions”

I take care of my things. After all, those of us as has few things to begin with must take care, lest we have fewer.

Possession is eleven points in the law.

—Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The wise man carries his possessions within him.

—Colleen Wainwright

We too often let the material things serve as indicators that we're doing well, even though something inside us tells us that were not doing our best. That we are avoiding that which is hard, but also necessary. That we are shrinking from rather than vising to the challenges of the age.

Most things worth having require some sacrifice, usually more than you expect.

—Barack Obama

History

11 Jul 2015 Added
10 Nov 2022 Edited (details weren’t recorded yet)