--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never gave away anything without…" description: "\"I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept anything without wishing I had given it away.\" — Louise Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/louise-brooks-27149_given_i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishi_1555699.jpg" --- # I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it… ![“I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept anything without wishing I had given it away.” quote by Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/louise-brooks-27149_given_i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishi_1555699.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/louise-brooks-27149_given_i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishi_1555699.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/louise-brooks-27149_given_i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishi_1555699.jpg) > “I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept anything without wishing I had given it away.” [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She balances giving and keeping, wishing she had done the opposite in each case. **In simple terms:** Desire for reciprocal exchange. Key Takeaway Seek balance between generosity and self‑preservation. Themes generosity regret balance personal values Mood nostalgic reflective thoughtful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - artistic collaborations - financial decisions - personal boundaries Key Concepts reciprocity emotional economy self‑care Questions to Reflect On - What do you truly want to keep or share? - How can you achieve a healthier exchange? A Different Perspective Over‑giving may lead to depletion; over‑keeping may cause isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gave Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave-away-756902/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept/) [Kept Wishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-wishing-4318238/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wishing Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishing-given-4318237/) [Wishing Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishing-kept-4318236/) ## Related quotes > [I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept it without wishing I had given it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishing-i-had-kept-it-nor-kept-it/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I'm thankful God really slowed me down and showed me, whatever he had gave to me, he can take it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrien-broner/i-m-thankful-god-really-slowed-me-down-and-showed-me-whatever-he-had/) [Adrien Broner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrien-broner/) > [“Honey, you can’t lose someone you gave away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffinie-helmer/honey-you-can-t-lose-someone-you-gave-away/) [Tiffinie Helmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffinie-helmer/) > [Poor artist! You gave away part of your soul when you painted the picture which you are now trying to dispose of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/poor-artist-you-gave-away-part-of-your-soul-when-you-painted-the/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Over a three year period, I gave away half of what I had. To be honest, my hands shook as I signed it away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/over-a-three-year-period-i-gave-away-half-of-what-i-had-to-be-honest/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [What I spent, is gone; what I kept, I lost; but what I gave away will be mine forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-percy-andrus/what-i-spent-is-gone-what-i-kept-i-lost-but-what-i-gave-away-will-be/) [Ethel Percy Andrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-percy-andrus/) > [I love her. I need her. I gave away everything I had for her. I just wanted her to know me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/i-love-her-i-need-her-i-gave-away-everything-i-had-for-her-i-just/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [They gave me away as a prize once - a Win Tony Curtis For A Weekend competition. The woman who won was disappointed. She'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/they-gave-me-away-as-a-prize-once-a-win-tony-curtis-for-a-weekend/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [I gave away a lot of works for benefits and then people would also give me back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-baryshnikov/i-gave-away-a-lot-of-works-for-benefits-and-then-people-would-also/) [Mikhail Baryshnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-baryshnikov/) > [ I entered high school she\[ my mother\] said, "Well, you're a teenager now, and comics are for kids, so you shouldn't read them anymore,"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trina-robbins/i-entered-high-school-she-my-mother-said-well-you-re-a-teenager-now/) [Trina Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trina-robbins/) > [“I mourn the piece of myself that I gave away and will never get back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggi-myers/i-mourn-the-piece-of-myself-that-i-gave-away-and-will-never-get-back/) [Maggi Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggi-myers/) > [“I gave away my mystery, knowing I shouldn't, yet incapable of anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-gave-away-my-mystery-knowing-i-shouldn-t-yet-incapable-of-anything/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [You gave yourself away, word by word, every time you opened your trap to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/you-gave-yourself-away-word-by-word-every-time-you-opened-your-trap/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Maybe I miss you because you took a part of me that I gave away without realizing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maybe-i-miss-you-because-you-took-a-part-of-me-that-i-gave-away/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I gave away most of my trophies, put away the plaques.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-brown/i-gave-away-most-of-my-trophies-put-away-the-plaques/) [Jim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-brown/) ## More by Louise Brooks > [For two extraordinary years I have been working on it - learning to write - but mostly learning how to tell the truth. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/for-two-extraordinary-years-i-have-been-working-on-it-learning-to/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [“Over the years I suffered poverty and rejection and came to believe that my mother had formed me for a freedom that was unattainable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/over-the-years-i-suffered-poverty-and-rejection-and-came-to-believe/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it will be with a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-have-a-gift-for-enraging-people-but-if-i-ever-bore-you-it-will-be/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept it without wishing I had given it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishing-i-had-kept-it-nor-kept-it/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [Most beautiful dumb girls think they are smart and get away with it, because other people, on the whole, aren't much smarter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/most-beautiful-dumb-girls-think-they-are-smart-and-get-away-with-it/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying.' I tried with all my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-do-not-excuse-myself-with-the-usual-escape-of-not-trying-i-tried/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-elimination/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [The great art of films does not consist of descriptive movement of face and body but in the movements of thought and soul transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/the-great-art-of-films-does-not-consist-of-descriptive-movement-of/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [After a person dies, his biographers feel free to give him a glittering list of intimate friends. Anecdotes are so much tastier spiced with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/after-a-person-dies-his-biographers-feel-free-to-give-him-a/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [Love is a publicity stunt, and making love, after the first curious raptures, is only another petulant way to pass the time waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/love-is-a-publicity-stunt-and-making-love-after-the-first-curious/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [If I ever bore you, it'll be with a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/if-i-ever-bore-you-it-ll-be-with-a-knife/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [“I have been taking stock of my 50 years since I left Wichita in 1922 at the age of 15 to become a dancer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-have-been-taking-stock-of-my-50-years-since-i-left-wichita-in-1922/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [The tragedy of film history is that it is fabricated, falsified, by the very people who make film history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/the-tragedy-of-film-history-is-that-it-is-fabricated-falsified-by-the/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [In my dreams I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/in-my-dreams-i-am-not-crippled-in-my-dreams-i-dance/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I learned to act by watching Martha Graham dance, and I learned to dance by watching Charlie Chaplin act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-learned-to-act-by-watching-martha-graham-dance-and-i-learned-to/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) [Explore all 21 Louise Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) ## More Given quotes > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [A low-minded person should not be given good advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-low-minded-person-should-not-be-given-good-advice/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [The old charters of Massachusetts, Virginia, and the Carolinas had given title to strips of territory extending from the Atlantic westward to the Pacific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bushnell-hart/the-old-charters-of-massachusetts-virginia-and-the-carolinas-had/) [Albert Bushnell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bushnell-hart/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Music is one of the ways by which you can know everything which is going on in the world. You can feel... through music...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-one-of-the-ways-by-which-you-can-know-everything-which-is/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. 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