--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must remember that nothing in this…" description: "\"We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. At best, we are merely borrowers.\" — Christopher Isherwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/christopher-isherwood-2302_belongs_we-must-remember-that-nothing-in-this-wo_208881.png" --- # We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs… ![“We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. At best, we are merely borrowers.” quote by Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/christopher-isherwood-2302_belongs_we-must-remember-that-nothing-in-this-wo_208881.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/christopher-isherwood-2302_belongs_we-must-remember-that-nothing-in-this-wo_208881.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/christopher-isherwood-2302_belongs_we-must-remember-that-nothing-in-this-wo_208881.png) > “We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. At best, we are merely borrowers.” [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All possessions are temporary; we are merely caretakers of life’s moments. **In simple terms:** We are only temporary borrowers. Key Takeaway Live with humility and gratitude. Themes impermanence humility ownership gratitude Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel - relationships - career - personal growth Key Concepts existential philosophy mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What do you truly own? - How does seeing life as borrowing change your actions? A Different Perspective Clinging to ownership can cause suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Anyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever finally comes to realise that nothing really belongs to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/anyone-who-has-lost-something-they-thought-was-theirs-forever-finally-2/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > ['I don't know why I've born and what for but I really know you really belongs to me otherwise at least I could remove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-singh/i-don-t-know-why-i-ve-born-and-what-for-but-i-really-know-you-really/) [Raj Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-singh/) > [Rock n' roll really belongs to all America. It really doesn't belong to one city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmet-ertegun/rock-n-roll-really-belongs-to-all-america-it-really-doesn-t-belong-to/) [Ahmet Ertegun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmet-ertegun/) > [You can never lose anything that really belongs to you, and you can't keep that which belongs to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/you-can-never-lose-anything-that-really-belongs-to-you-and-you-can-t/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [Conscience gets a lot of credit that really belongs to cowardice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/conscience-gets-a-lot-of-credit-that-really-belongs-to-cowardice/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [I feel most at home in the United States, not because it is intrinsically a more interesting country, but because no one really belongs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/i-feel-most-at-home-in-the-united-states-not-because-it-is/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [What the mortgage bubble was all about was big banks like Goldman Sachs taking big bundles of subprime mortgages that were lent out largely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/what-the-mortgage-bubble-was-all-about-was-big-banks-like-goldman/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [In surveys, many borrowers say reverse mortgages have improved their lives and provided money they needed for retirement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/in-surveys-many-borrowers-say-reverse-mortgages-have-improved-their/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Some borrowers are pretty damn good at fraud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gilbert/some-borrowers-are-pretty-damn-good-at-fraud/) [Dan Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gilbert/) > [The rich is the one that rules over those of little means, and the borrower is servant to the man doing the lending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon/the-rich-is-the-one-that-rules-over-those-of-little-means-and-the/) [Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon/) > [Human beans are for Borrowers—like bread’s for butter!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norton/human-beans-are-for-borrowers-like-bread-s-for-butter/) [Mary Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norton/) > [The Treasury plan is a disgrace: a bailout of reckless bankers, lenders and investors that provides little direct debt relief to borrowers and financially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouriel-roubini/the-treasury-plan-is-a-disgrace-a-bailout-of-reckless-bankers-lenders/) [Nouriel Roubini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouriel-roubini/) > [Borrowers are nearly always ill-spenders, and it is with lent money that all evil is mainly done and all unjust war protracted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/borrowers-are-nearly-always-ill-spenders-and-it-is-with-lent-money/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Control your generosity when dealing with a chronic borrower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/control-your-generosity-when-dealing-with-a-chronic-borrower/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm no innovator. If anything I'm a stealer, or borrower. I've stolen or borrowed from more people than you can shake a stick at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/i-m-no-innovator-if-anything-i-m-a-stealer-or-borrower-i-ve-stolen-or/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) ## More by Christopher Isherwood > [“From his angle, the curtain seems to form itself into a shrouded, wavering figure, indescribably terrifying in its very indistinctness. Something waiting, hovering on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/from-his-angle-the-curtain-seems-to-form-itself-into-a-shrouded/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“If you really have talent, you know, you'll go on writing - whatever people say to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/if-you-really-have-talent-you-know-you-ll-go-on-writing-whatever/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [But seriously, I believe I'm a sort of Ideal Woman, if you know what I mean. I'm the sort of woman who can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/but-seriously-i-believe-i-m-a-sort-of-ideal-woman-if-you-know-what-i/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [If it’s going to be a world with no time for sentiment, it’s not a world that I want to live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/if-it-s-going-to-be-a-world-with-no-time-for-sentiment-it-s-not-a/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“By the time it has gotten dressed, it has become he; has become already more or less George — though still not the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/by-the-time-it-has-gotten-dressed-it-has-become-he-has-become-already/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“George feels that, even if all this double talk hasn't brought them any closer to understanding each other, the not-understanding, the readiness to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/george-feels-that-even-if-all-this-double-talk-hasn-t-brought-them/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Now, for example, people with freckles aren’t thought of as a minority by the nonfreckled. They aren’t a minority in the sense we’re talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/now-for-example-people-with-freckles-aren-t-thought-of-as-a-minority/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of-it-their-masterpieces-are/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Here, in their midst, George feels a sort of vertigo. Oh God, what will become of them all? What chance have they? Ought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/here-in-their-midst-george-feels-a-sort-of-vertigo-oh-god-what-will/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“I put my genius into my life, not into my art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-put-my-genius-into-my-life-not-into-my-art/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [In the eternal lazy morning of the Pacific, days slip away into months, months into years; the seasons are reduced to the faintest nuance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/in-the-eternal-lazy-morning-of-the-pacific-days-slip-away-into-months/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Waking up begins with am and now. That which has awoken then lies for a while staring up at the ceiling and down into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/waking-up-begins-with-am-and-now-that-which-has-awoken-then-lies-for/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Like a long train which stops at every dingy little station, the winter dragged slowly past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/like-a-long-train-which-stops-at-every-dingy-little-station-the/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [Every writer has certain subjects that they write about again and again, and . . . most people's books are just variations on certain themes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/every-writer-has-certain-subjects-that-they-write-about-again-and/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“The Europeans hate us because we’ve retired to live inside our advertisements, like hermits going into caves to contemplate. We sleep in symbolic bedrooms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/the-europeans-hate-us-because-we-ve-retired-to-live-inside-our/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) [Explore all 169 Christopher Isherwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) ## More Belongs quotes > [“You may have the girlfriend title, but we both know who your heart truly belongs to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cutiplier/you-may-have-the-girlfriend-title-but-we-both-know-who-your-heart/) Cutiplier > [The more help a person has in his garden, the less it belongs to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-davies/the-more-help-a-person-has-in-his-garden-the-less-it-belongs-to-him/) [W. H. Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-davies/) > [“Everything on this earth belongs to God and therefore the more your dedication draws you closer to him, the more you will draw closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/everything-on-this-earth-belongs-to-god-and-therefore-the-more-your/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Fear keep people away from what it belongs to them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bismark-frimpong/fear-keep-people-away-from-what-it-belongs-to-them/) [Bismark Frimpong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bismark-frimpong/) > [I have a belief: What belongs to you, comes to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/i-have-a-belief-what-belongs-to-you-comes-to-you/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [“Story is powerful. Story is fluid and it belongs to nobody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/story-is-powerful-story-is-fluid-and-it-belongs-to-nobody/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [The world belongs to those who persevere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-persevere/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [The world belongs to the articulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-world-belongs-to-the-articulate/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Meryl Streep belongs on anybody's list of greats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/meryl-streep-belongs-on-anybody-s-list-of-greats/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [The Very Last Person You Think About Right Before You Fall Asleep . That's who your heart Belongs To..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-very-last-person-you-think-about-right-before-you-fall-asleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tell the devil to go to hell... that's where he belongs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hart/tell-the-devil-to-go-to-hell-that-s-where-he-belongs/) [Mark Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hart/) > [The future belongs to he who has the bishops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegbert-tarrasch/the-future-belongs-to-he-who-has-the-bishops/) [Siegbert Tarrasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegbert-tarrasch/) > [Parkour belongs to the ones who live it, not the ones who want to live thanks to it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-belle/parkour-belongs-to-the-ones-who-live-it-not-the-ones-who-want-to-live/) [David Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-belle/) > [One's own self-worth is tied to the worth of the community to which one belongs, which is intimately connected to humanity in general. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-s-own-self-worth-is-tied-to-the-worth-of-the-community-to-which/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Liquid helium belongs to a class of fluids known as quantum fluids, as distinct from classical fluids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/liquid-helium-belongs-to-a-class-of-fluids-known-as-quantum-fluids-as/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) Browse all 375 Belongs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. 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