---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you set something free and it comes…"
description: "\"If you set something free and it comes back to you, that's the beginning of it being yours.\" — John de Ruiter"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-de-ruiter-2726_beginning_if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-b_685631.png"
---

#  If you set something free and it comes back to you, that's…

![“If you set something free and it comes back to you, that's the beginning of it being yours.” quote by John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-de-ruiter-2726_beginning_if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-b_685631.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-de-ruiter-2726_beginning_if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-b_685631.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-de-ruiter-2726_beginning_if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-b_685631.png)

> “If you set something free and it comes back to you, that's the beginning of it being yours.”

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

## About This Quote

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

Returning something you release shows it belongs to you, symbolizing that generosity creates reciprocal belonging.

**In simple terms:** Giving freely can bring things back, showing they are yours.

Key Takeaway

Practice generosity and expect reciprocal connection.

Themes

generosity reciprocity spirituality

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

spiritual ethical

When to use this quote

- relationships
- mentorship
- community building

Key Concepts

attachment theory interdependence law of attraction

Questions to Reflect On

- What does it mean to “own” something that returns to you?
- How can you give without expecting anything in return?

A Different Perspective

Reciprocity is not guaranteed; expectations may lead to disappointment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/)

## Related quotes

> [If you love something let it go. If it comes back it was always yours to keep in the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-something-let-it-go-if-it-comes-back-it-was-always-yours/)

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

> [If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, its yours. If it does not come back, it was never meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-its-yours-if-it/)

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

> [If you love something set it free , and if it comes back it's yours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-and-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours/)

[Valerie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie/)

> [If you really love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If not, it wasn't meant to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina/if-you-really-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours-2/)

[Karina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina/)

> [If yOu ReAlLy LoVe SoMeThInG sEt iT fReE, iF iT cOmEs BaCk iT's YoUrS, iF iT dOeSn'T iT wAs NeVeR MeAnT tO Be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/generose-relano/if-you-really-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours/)

[Generose Relano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/generose-relano/)

> [“If you love something, set it free; if it comes backs it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-backs-it-s-yours-if-it/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

> [If you love something, set it free. If it comes back it's yours to keep. If it doesn't, it was never meant to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours-to-keep/)

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

> [“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it does not, it was never meant to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-james/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours-if-it/)

[Monica James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-james/)

> [“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, It is yours. If it doesn't, It never was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-to-you-it-is-yours/)

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

> [If you love something, set it free; if it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours-if-it-2/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

> [If you really love something set it free. If it comes back its yours, if not it wasn't meant to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/if-you-really-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-its-yours/)

[Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/)

> [If you love something set it free, if it comes back it was always yours if it doesnt then it never was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariely/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-comes-back-it-was-always/)

Mariely

> [If you love something let it free, if it comes back its yours, if it doesn't then it was never meant to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-something-let-it-free-if-it-comes-back-its-yours-if-it/)

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

> [“If you truly love something, you should set it free, and if it doesn't come back then...they were never yours to start.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/better-me/if-you-truly-love-something-you-should-set-it-free-and-if-it-doesn-t/)

Better Me

> [If you love anything set it free unless it is a tiger..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kshitij-roshan/if-you-love-anything-set-it-free-unless-it-is-a-tiger/)

[Kshitij Roshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kshitij-roshan/)

## More by John de Ruiter

> [Your deeper sense isn’t a springboard; it’s a landing place. If you draw conclusions too quickly or too slowly, you’ll establish your self where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-deeper-sense-isn-t-a-springboard-it-s-a-landing-place-if-you/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [Relate to the little instead of relating to the big. The little is indomitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/relate-to-the-little-instead-of-relating-to-the-big-the-little-is/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [When you, awareness, are mastered by the deepest that you know the truth of, then you are no longer awareness. You are oneness aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-you-awareness-are-mastered-by-the-deepest-that-you-know-the/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [The let-go of the last little bit is the biggest because, in that, there is no return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/the-let-go-of-the-last-little-bit-is-the-biggest-because-in-that/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [If you die of cancer with only openness and softness in your heart, you will live and die integrating your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-die-of-cancer-with-only-openness-and-softness-in-your-heart/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [When you move as openness and softness of heart you’re moving in this life within your self in the same way that your being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-you-move-as-openness-and-softness-of-heart-you-re-moving-in-this/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [The more open you are within, the more capacity you will have to know, to see, and to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/the-more-open-you-are-within-the-more-capacity-you-will-have-to-know/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [When resistance no longer serves you, you'll no longer have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-resistance-no-longer-serves-you-you-ll-no-longer-have-it/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [While sincerity is to carry the weight of knowledge in the self, it is also to be the lightness of being clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/while-sincerity-is-to-carry-the-weight-of-knowledge-in-the-self-it-is/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [When awareness believes what it knows is true, the truth of what awareness really is, moves. That movement is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-awareness-believes-what-it-knows-is-true-the-truth-of-what/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [Believe only what you know and all of what you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/believe-only-what-you-know-and-all-of-what-you-know/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [For you to be free of your thinking mind, that will cost you the way that you've put your self together. It will cost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/for-you-to-be-free-of-your-thinking-mind-that-will-cost-you-the-way/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [The formless cannot be based on the form. The form needs to be based on the formless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/the-formless-cannot-be-based-on-the-form-the-form-needs-to-be-based/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [To really evolve as awareness, be just like your own being in a self like yours and on a planet like this one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/to-really-evolve-as-awareness-be-just-like-your-own-being-in-a-self/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [When you lay down your life for what you are after you've died, you're clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-you-lay-down-your-life-for-what-you-are-after-you-ve-died-you-re/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

[Explore all 152 John de Ruiter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

## More Beginning quotes

> [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/)

[Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/)

> [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/)

[Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/)

> [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/)

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

> [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/)

Adam Imad

> [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/)

[Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/)

> [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/)

[Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/)

> [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/)

[Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/)

> [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&amp;R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/)

[Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/)

> [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/)

[Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/)

> [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/)

Manae Poet Of Carisis

> [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/)

[Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/)

> [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/)

[Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/)

> [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/)

[Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/)

> [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/)

Jacklyn H Lucas

[Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you set something free and it comes back to you, that's the beginning of it being yours.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John de Ruiter"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-back-to-you-that-s-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beginning"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-back-to-you-that-s-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-de-ruiter-2726_beginning_if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-b_685631.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-de-ruiter-2726_beginning_if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-b_685631.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-de-ruiter-2726_beginning_if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-b_685631.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you set something free and it comes back to you, that's the beginning of it being yours.” — John de Ruiter",
                "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": "John de Ruiter",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you set something free and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-back-to-you-that-s-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-set-something-free-and-it-comes-back-to-you-that-s-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
