---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could no longer afford to be jealous or…"
description: "\"I could no longer afford to be jealous or unfriendly, because, as soon as I was, a bandage came down over my eyes, and I was bound hand and foot and ca..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jacques-lusseyran-57597_being-jealous_i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-o_2347553.png"
---

#  I could no longer afford to be jealous or unfriendly…

![“I could no longer afford to be jealous or unfriendly, because, as soon as I was, a bandage came down over my eyes, and I was bound hand and foot and cast aside. All at once a black hole opened, and I was helpless inside it. But when I was happy and serene, approached people with confidence and…” quote by Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jacques-lusseyran-57597_being-jealous_i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-o_2347553.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jacques-lusseyran-57597_being-jealous_i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-o_2347553.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jacques-lusseyran-57597_being-jealous_i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-o_2347553.png)

> “I could no longer afford to be jealous or unfriendly, because, as soon as I was, a bandage came down over my eyes, and I was bound hand and foot and cast aside. All at once a black hole opened, and I was helpless inside it. But when I was happy and serene, approached people with confidence and thought well of them, I was rewarded with light.”

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Jealousy blinds and traps us, while gratitude and confidence open us to positive experiences.

**In simple terms:** Jealousy blocks growth; gratitude invites light.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate gratitude and confidence to attract positivity.

Themes

gratitude confidence mindset emotional health resilience

Mood

reflective hopeful inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- career challenges
- mental health recovery
- social interactions

Key Concepts

psychology emotional intelligence self‑awareness

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you turn jealousy into gratitude?
- What daily practices foster confidence?

A Different Perspective

Neglecting self‑care can still leave one vulnerable to negative emotions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bandage Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bandage-came-3983372/) [Being jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-jealous/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black hole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hole/) [Casts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casts/) [Confidence Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence-thought-329793/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Bound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-bound-1409893/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hands and feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-and-feet/) [Helpless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helpless/) [Holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holes/) [Jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealous/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Opened Helpless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opened-helpless-5703938/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Serene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serene/) [Thought Rewarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-rewarded-5703939/) [Unfriendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfriendly/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/)

## Related quotes

> [“He said he'd hurt himself against a wall or had fallen down. But there was probably some other reason for the wounded, the bandaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-cavafy/he-said-he-d-hurt-himself-against-a-wall-or-had-fallen-down-but-there/)

[C.P. Cavafy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-cavafy/)

> [“And yet, I seemed to feel my eyes bound, too, with bands of silk. And at my throat there was a velvet collar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/and-yet-i-seemed-to-feel-my-eyes-bound-too-with-bands-of-silk-and-at/)

[Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/)

> [“If a man has his eyes bound, you can encourage him as much as you like to stare through the bandage, but he'll never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/if-a-man-has-his-eyes-bound-you-can-encourage-him-as-much-as-you-like/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [“For while anyone can sit back and point to the bottom line as justification, assessing instead a person's actual knowledge and actual ability takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/for-while-anyone-can-sit-back-and-point-to-the-bottom-line-as/)

[Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/)

> [It was a little harder when I first went to Egypt when I was 18 years old and being a white woman with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/it-was-a-little-harder-when-i-first-went-to-egypt-when-i-was-18-years/)

[Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/)

> [“She smiled at the memory. Her father, her dearest daddy, had become late many years ago now, but she still thought of him every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/she-smiled-at-the-memory-her-father-her-dearest-daddy-had-become-late/)

[Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/)

> [Winning the 400 meters gold at the pre-Olympics gave me a little confidence. I thought I could win a medal if I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-usha/winning-the-400-meters-gold-at-the-pre-olympics-gave-me-a-little/)

[P. T. Usha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-usha/)

> [In the early days of the Russian Revolution in 1917, I was completely in sympathy with it. I felt that it established a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiang-kai-shek/in-the-early-days-of-the-russian-revolution-in-1917-i-was-completely/)

[Chiang Kai-shek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiang-kai-shek/)

> [Adversity is like the period of the rain. . . cold, comfortless, unfriendly to people and to animals; yet from that season have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/adversity-is-like-the-period-of-the-rain-cold-comfortless-unfriendly/)

[Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/)

> [A severe though not unfriendly critic of our institutions said that the cure for admiring the House of Lords was to go and look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/a-severe-though-not-unfriendly-critic-of-our-institutions-said-that/)

[Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/)

> [Wisdom will never let us stand with any man on an unfriendly footing. We refuse sympathy and intimacy with people, as if we waited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wisdom-will-never-let-us-stand-with-any-man-on-an-unfriendly-footing/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Being carefree, you can fit in anywhere. If you’re not carefree you keep on bumping up against things. Your life becomes so narrow, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsoknyi-rinpoche/being-carefree-you-can-fit-in-anywhere-if-you-re-not-carefree-you/)

[Tsoknyi Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsoknyi-rinpoche/)

> [The intellect searches out the Absolute order of things as they stand in the mind of God, and without the colors of affection. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-intellect-searches-out-the-absolute-order-of-things-as-they-stand/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [For what reason then do the realists show themselves so unfriendly toward philosophy? Because they misunderstand their own calling and with all their might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/for-what-reason-then-do-the-realists-show-themselves-so-unfriendly/)

[Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/)

## More by Jacques Lusseyran

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [“Inside me there was everything I had believed was outside. There was, in particular, the sun, light, and all colors. There were even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/inside-me-there-was-everything-i-had-believed-was-outside-there-was/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [People often say that blindness sharpens hearing, but I don't think this is so. My ears were hearing no better, but I was making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/people-often-say-that-blindness-sharpens-hearing-but-i-don-t-think/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [Unhappiness, I saw then, comes to each of us because we think ourselves at the center of the world, because we have the miserable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/unhappiness-i-saw-then-comes-to-each-of-us-because-we-think-ourselves/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [Our fate is shaped from within ourselves outward, never from without inward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/our-fate-is-shaped-from-within-ourselves-outward-never-from-without/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

[Explore all 6 Jacques Lusseyran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

## More Being jealous quotes

> [Being with a jealous person is better than someone who never cares about what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-with-a-jealous-person-is-better-than-someone-who-never-cares/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In love, making your crush jealous is not going to help it would just make it more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-valdez/in-love-making-your-crush-jealous-is-not-going-to-help-it-would-just/)

[Sarah Valdez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-valdez/)

> [A boy makes his girl jealous of other women, a true gentlemen makes other women jealous of his girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiara-sellars/a-boy-makes-his-girl-jealous-of-other-women-a-true-gentlemen-makes/)

[Kiara Sellars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiara-sellars/)

> [Being jealous isn't a female trait, its a human trait...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-jealous-isn-t-a-female-trait-its-a-human-trait/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It's sad how some people are so jealous and intimidated by you that they only have negative things to say when they know absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-sad-how-some-people-are-so-jealous-and-intimidated-by-you-that/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The more you lose the right to be jealous, the more so you become!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/the-more-you-lose-the-right-to-be-jealous-the-more-so-you-become/)

[George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/)

> [Your jealousy is simply you loving one's failure and hating one's success...it's completely normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-jealousy-is-simply-you-loving-one-s-failure-and-hating-one-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Ignore the people talking behind your back. That's where they belong. Just behind you and making you famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharlene05/ignore-the-people-talking-behind-your-back-that-s-where-they-belong/)

[Sharlene05](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharlene05/)

> [Boy: Baby, are you jealous: Girl: No. Boy: Baby, are you jealous? Girl: No. Boy: Baby, are you jealous? Girl: I said no. Boy:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/boy-baby-are-you-jealous-girl-no-boy-baby-are-you-jealous-girl-no-boy/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Yes, I get jealous. Yes, I get possessive. Why? Because what's mine is MINE and sometimes I think someone might steal you away forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keren-zhims/yes-i-get-jealous-yes-i-get-possessive-why-because-what-s-mine-is/)

[Keren Zhims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keren-zhims/)

> [I realized a long time ago that instead of being jealous you can be inspired and appreciative. It carries more energy to you... That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/i-realized-a-long-time-ago-that-instead-of-being-jealous-you-can-be/)

[Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/)

> [Once you become more and more watchful of your inner workings things become simple. Then a few things have to be dropped. One has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/once-you-become-more-and-more-watchful-of-your-inner-workings-things/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [Don't be jealous of my boogie...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/don-t-be-jealous-of-my-boogie/)

[RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/)

> [I always get jealous of other people spending time with you, making you smile and laugh, simply talking to you.. But then I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/i-always-get-jealous-of-other-people-spending-time-with-you-making/)

[Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/)

> [I hate to be around Negative People or jealous people ,because they kill my Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saziso-lucas/i-hate-to-be-around-negative-people-or-jealous-people-because-they/)

[Saziso Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saziso-lucas/)

[Browse all 238 Being jealous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-jealous/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I could no longer afford to be jealous or unfriendly, because, as soon as I was, a bandage came down over my eyes, and I was bound hand and foot and cast aside. All at once a black hole opened, and I was helpless inside it. But when I was happy and serene, approached people with confidence and thought well of them, I was rewarded with light.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jacques Lusseyran"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-or-unfriendly-because-as-soon/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Being jealous"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-or-unfriendly-because-as-soon/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jacques-lusseyran-57597_being-jealous_i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-o_2347553.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jacques-lusseyran-57597_being-jealous_i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-o_2347553.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jacques-lusseyran-57597_being-jealous_i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-o_2347553.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I could no longer afford to be jealous or unfriendly, because, as soon as I was, a bandage came down over my…” — Jacques Lusseyran",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jacques Lusseyran",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I could no longer afford to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-or-unfriendly-because-as-soon/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-could-no-longer-afford-to-be-jealous-or-unfriendly-because-as-soon/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
