--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only when we have renounced our…" description: "\"It is only when we have renounced our preoccupation with \"I,\" \"me,\" \"mine,\" that we can truly possess the world in which we live. Everything, provided ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/aldous-huxley-97_possess_it-is-only-when-we-have-renounced-our-pr_2551081.jpg" --- # It is only when we have renounced our preoccupation with… ![“It is only when we have renounced our preoccupation with "I," "me," "mine," that we can truly possess the world in which we live. Everything, provided that we regard nothing as property. And not only is everything ours; it is also everybody else's.” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/aldous-huxley-97_possess_it-is-only-when-we-have-renounced-our-pr_2551081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/aldous-huxley-97_possess_it-is-only-when-we-have-renounced-our-pr_2551081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/aldous-huxley-97_possess_it-is-only-when-we-have-renounced-our-pr_2551081.jpg) > “It is only when we have renounced our preoccupation with "I," "me," "mine," that we can truly possess the world in which we live. Everything, provided that we regard nothing as property. And not only is everything ours; it is also everybody else's.” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Renouncing self‑centered ownership lets us see the world as shared, reducing possessiveness and fostering collective stewardship. **In simple terms:** Let go of "I" to share the world. Key Takeaway Embrace shared responsibility. Themes selflessness collectivism environment philosophy Mood reflective inspirational Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - community projects - environmental activism - shared resources - collaborative work - public policy Key Concepts ego dissolution interdependence ownership spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How does letting go of personal claim change your relationship with others? - What obstacles arise when sharing resources? A Different Perspective May be idealistic; practical constraints of personal need can hinder full relinquishment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Possess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possess/) [Possess World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possess-world-320810/) [Preoccupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preoccupation/) [Preoccupation Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preoccupation-truly-1521877/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Renounced Preoccupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renounced-preoccupation-1521875/) [Truly Possess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-possess-1521876/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [To travel is to possess the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-burton-holmes/to-travel-is-to-possess-the-world/) [Elias Burton Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-burton-holmes/) > [“You need only claim the events of your life to make yourself yours. When you truly possess all you have been and done, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florida-scott-maxwell/you-need-only-claim-the-events-of-your-life-to-make-yourself-yours/) [Florida Scott-Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florida-scott-maxwell/) > [We possess nothing in the world - a mere chance can strip us of everything - except the power to say 'I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/we-possess-nothing-in-the-world-a-mere-chance-can-strip-us-of/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/what-you-possess-in-the-world-will-be-found-at-the-day-of-your-death/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was. We do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-willcocks/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-to-you-it-s-yours-2/) [Alison Willcocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-willcocks/) > [We truly possess only what we are able to renounce; otherwise, we are simply possessed by our possessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/we-truly-possess-only-what-we-are-able-to-renounce-otherwise-we-are/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [You need only claim the events of your life to make yourself yours. When you truly possess all you have been and done, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florida-scott-maxwell/you-need-only-claim-the-events-of-your-life-to-make-yourself-yours-2/) [Florida Scott-Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florida-scott-maxwell/) > [“You only truly possess that which you cannot lose in a shipwreck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-only-truly-possess-that-which-you-cannot-lose-in-a-shipwreck/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And now good morrow to our waking souls, Which watch not one another out of fear; For love, all love of other sights controls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/and-now-good-morrow-to-our-waking-souls-which-watch-not-one-another/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Only by letting go can we truly possess what is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chow-yun-fat/only-by-letting-go-can-we-truly-possess-what-is-real/) [Chow Yun-Fat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chow-yun-fat/) > [“If I were going to tell one of my sons how to possess the world, I would simply bring him into my house, show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/if-i-were-going-to-tell-one-of-my-sons-how-to-possess-the-world-i/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) > [“If what you have seems insufficient to you, then though you possess the world, you will yet be miserable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/if-what-you-have-seems-insufficient-to-you-then-though-you-possess/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [I see upon their noble brows the seal of the Lord, for they were born kings of the earth far more truly than those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/i-see-upon-their-noble-brows-the-seal-of-the-lord-for-they-were-born/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [A simple man will have only what he needs, and he will know the difference between what he needs and what he wants. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/a-simple-man-will-have-only-what-he-needs-and-he-will-know-the/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [“He was going to take in, possess the whole of the world. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi? Fuck off. He wanted more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christos-tsiolkas/he-was-going-to-take-in-possess-the-whole-of-the-world-aussie-aussie/) [Christos Tsiolkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christos-tsiolkas/) ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The question for the man of sense is: Do we or do we not want to go to hell? And his answer is: No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-question-for-the-man-of-sense-is-do-we-or-do-we-not-want-to-go-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I’ll MAKE you be free whether you want to or not.’ -The Savage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-ll-make-you-be-free-whether-you-want-to-or-not-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Then what’s time for?” asked Lenina in some astonishment. Apparently, for going on walks in the Lake District; for that was what he now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/then-what-s-time-for-asked-lenina-in-some-astonishment-apparently-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-right-then-said-the-savage-defiantly-i-m-claiming-the-right-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Speed, it seems to me, provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/speed-it-seems-to-me-provides-the-one-genuinely-modern-pleasure/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What you need is a gramme of soma.” “All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-you-need-is-a-gramme-of-soma-all-the-advantages-of-christianity/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-be-enlightened-is-to-be-aware-always-of-total-reality-in-its/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Quote of the day:Quote of the day: A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/quote-of-the-day-quote-of-the-day-a-democracy-which-makes-or-even/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Explore all 1,291 Aldous Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More Possess quotes > [You can only possess beauty through understanding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-only-possess-beauty-through-understanding-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“All the knowledge I possess every one else can acquire, but my heart is exclusively my own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-the-knowledge-i-possess-every-one-else-can-acquire-but-my-heart/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“We all possess, like it or not, the people we know, and are possessed by them in turn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/we-all-possess-like-it-or-not-the-people-we-know-and-are-possessed-by/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [Nothing will ever please me, no matter how excellent or beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to myself. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/nothing-will-ever-please-me-no-matter-how-excellent-or-beneficial-if/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [You cannot impart what you do not possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/you-cannot-impart-what-you-do-not-possess/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [How could this world be so unlike the world that I believed I was living in? I can't describe it. Do I not want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/how-could-this-world-be-so-unlike-the-world-that-i-believed-i-was/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“to possess one single thing (it is Louis now) must waver, like the light in and out of the beech leaves; and then words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-possess-one-single-thing-it-is-louis-now-must-waver-like-the-light/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/there-is-one-quality-which-one-must-possess-to-win-and-that-is/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [There is absolutely no man in the whole world who can possess one among you unless he first die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/there-is-absolutely-no-man-in-the-whole-world-who-can-possess-one/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [To possess another language is to possess another soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/to-possess-another-language-is-to-possess-another-soul/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [When we consider the fact that nearly three-quarters of the surface of the globe is covered by oceanic water, we begin to realise that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-raman/when-we-consider-the-fact-that-nearly-three-quarters-of-the-surface/) [C. V. Raman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-raman/) > [I don't believe that if you love somebody you have to possess him, live with him or marry him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-dutta/i-don-t-believe-that-if-you-love-somebody-you-have-to-possess-him/) [Lara Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-dutta/) > [There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-is-poetry-as-soon-as-we-realize-that-we-possess-nothing/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [In these times of stress, snark, division and despair, I still suspect that two of the most important features we possess are imagination and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-s-fletcher/in-these-times-of-stress-snark-division-and-despair-i-still-suspect/) [Geoffrey S. Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-s-fletcher/) > [To know how to dispense with things is to possess them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-regnard/to-know-how-to-dispense-with-things-is-to-possess-them/) [Jean-Francois Regnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-regnard/) [Browse all 274 Possess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is only when we have renounced our preoccupation with \"I,\" \"me,\" \"mine,\" that we can truly possess the world in which we live. Everything, provided that we regard nothing as property. 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