--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Possessions can possess you. Even a lawn…" description: "\"Possessions can possess you. Even a lawn can possess you. It makes you buy a garden hose. Which makes you water. Which cuts into time you might be happ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/orson-bean-5446_garden_possessions-can-possess-you-even-a-lawn_1255.jpg" --- # Possessions can possess you. Even a lawn can possess you… ![“Possessions can possess you. Even a lawn can possess you. It makes you buy a garden hose. Which makes you water. Which cuts into time you might be happier spending some other way.” quote by Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/orson-bean-5446_garden_possessions-can-possess-you-even-a-lawn_1255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/orson-bean-5446_garden_possessions-can-possess-you-even-a-lawn_1255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/orson-bean-5446_garden_possessions-can-possess-you-even-a-lawn_1255.jpg) > “Possessions can possess you. Even a lawn can possess you. It makes you buy a garden hose. Which makes you water. Which cuts into time you might be happier spending some other way.” [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Material items can dominate attention and dictate behavior, turning routine chores into time sinks that crowd out more fulfilling pursuits. **In simple terms:** Things can control you Key Takeaway Beware of hidden costs Themes consumerism time management mindfulness Mood irritated reflective Type observational cautionary When to use this quote - home maintenance - shopping decisions - leisure planning Key Concepts attention economy habit formation Practical Applications - budgeting - prioritization Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which chores are worth the time? - What alternatives could replace a lawn for recreation? A Different Perspective Some argue that possessions provide comfort and efficiency, offsetting their time cost. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Possessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possessions/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [Your own physical, superficial not spiritual. All the possessions you possess, and they can't keep your spirit full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/your-own-physical-superficial-not-spiritual-all-the-possessions-you/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) > [Everything you and I will ever have will come to us as the result of the way we use our minds, the one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/everything-you-and-i-will-ever-have-will-come-to-us-as-the-result-of/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“The consciousness of what you possess makes you put them to use”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-okafor/the-consciousness-of-what-you-possess-makes-you-put-them-to-use/) [Justice Okafor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-okafor/) > [“Verbal virtuosities or the gratuitous expense of time or money that is presupposed by material or symbolic appropriation of works of art, or even,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/verbal-virtuosities-or-the-gratuitous-expense-of-time-or-money-that/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [Blessed be the ones that are free that have detached from possessions that can possess Thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/blessed-be-the-ones-that-are-free-that-have-detached-from-possessions/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Lets be honest, whenever you get a new phone; you treat it like a new born baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lets-be-honest-whenever-you-get-a-new-phone-you-treat-it-like-a-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One day, when I own a house, I'll keep a library full of books. Books are different from other possessions-they're more like friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/one-day-when-i-own-a-house-i-ll-keep-a-library-full-of-books-books/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) > [“If he so much as mentioned the absence of any trunks or material possessions that constituted things she could attend to, by God, she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christi-caldwell/if-he-so-much-as-mentioned-the-absence-of-any-trunks-or-material/) [Christi Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christi-caldwell/) > [“Thankfulness acknowledges that we can’t own anything, but we can experience everything. And just knowing that makes me thankful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/thankfulness-acknowledges-that-we-can-t-own-anything-but-we-can/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Americans are funny," Terence O'Donnell pointed out in a conversation we had about our national need to own as much as possible, including our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-fisher/americans-are-funny-terence-o-donnell-pointed-out-in-a-conversation/) [Lionel Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-fisher/) > [“Oh, if only I were young again, I would travel! There's so much of the world I would like to have seen. But I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-alice-monroe/oh-if-only-i-were-young-again-i-would-travel-there-s-so-much-of-the/) [Mary Alice Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-alice-monroe/) > [The good Bishop of Assisi expressed a sort of horror at the hard life which the Little Brothers lived at the Portiuncula, without comforts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-bishop-of-assisi-expressed-a-sort-of-horror-at-the-hard-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The more we try to ground our identities in external possessions or triumphs, the more we plaster our names on everything we can accumulate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kavanaugh/the-more-we-try-to-ground-our-identities-in-external-possessions-or/) John F. Kavanaugh > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) ## More by Orson Bean > [One night in a club in Boston, I tried the name Roger Duck. No laughs. The next night, I tried Orson Bean, putting together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/one-night-in-a-club-in-boston-i-tried-the-name-roger-duck-no-laughs/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [In the long period of time when I did talk shows and game shows, a whole new generation of people came along who thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/in-the-long-period-of-time-when-i-did-talk-shows-and-game-shows-a/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [I'm not a pessimist. I do believe that in some way we don't understand, God has a hand in things and it will all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/i-m-not-a-pessimist-i-do-believe-that-in-some-way-we-don-t-understand/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [What I learned at home was despair and hopelessness. What I learned at the pictures was don't give up the ship, we have only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/what-i-learned-at-home-was-despair-and-hopelessness-what-i-learned-at/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [Hollywood is very divisive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/hollywood-is-very-divisive/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [My wife and I sold our house New York and moved to Australia for a year; then we came back and spent almost three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/my-wife-and-i-sold-our-house-new-york-and-moved-to-australia-for-a/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [What is it with me? I seem to be an incorrigible black-listee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/what-is-it-with-me-i-seem-to-be-an-incorrigible-black-listee/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [I think America was a miracle. I think God loves this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/i-think-america-was-a-miracle-i-think-god-loves-this-country/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [Left-wingers and right-wingers come together when they become extreme enough. The Nazi Party was called National Socialism, very similar to Stalin's Communism, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/left-wingers-and-right-wingers-come-together-when-they-become-extreme/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [I loved New York in the '50s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/i-loved-new-york-in-the-50s/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [One of the things I'm proudest of, one year on my refrigerator, I taped a Christmas card from the Republican National Committee and season's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/one-of-the-things-i-m-proudest-of-one-year-on-my-refrigerator-i-taped/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [I never cared what anyone thought about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/i-never-cared-what-anyone-thought-about-me/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [You know when I was a kid, I hated every day I was in school, from the kindergarten right through to my last day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/you-know-when-i-was-a-kid-i-hated-every-day-i-was-in-school-from-the/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [TV has changed everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/tv-has-changed-everything/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [I made up my mind I was going to walk that thin line between fame and oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/i-made-up-my-mind-i-was-going-to-walk-that-thin-line-between-fame-and/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) [Explore all 100 Orson Bean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) ## More Garden quotes > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When you're the director and the writer, you never have to remember your lines, and there's no one to call you on it. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/when-you-re-the-director-and-the-writer-you-never-have-to-remember/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [There was a product on late night TV that you could attach to your garden hose - "You can water your hard-to-reach plants with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/there-was-a-product-on-late-night-tv-that-you-could-attach-to-your/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [In a delightful garden, sowing, planting or digging are not hardship but are done with a zeal and a certain pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/in-a-delightful-garden-sowing-planting-or-digging-are-not-hardship/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Life on a small farm might seem primitive, but by living such a life we become able to discover the Great Path. I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masanobu-fukuoka/life-on-a-small-farm-might-seem-primitive-but-by-living-such-a-life/) [Masanobu Fukuoka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masanobu-fukuoka/) > [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/) > [ I wanted to play in New York when I was in my prime and I was young, fierce, lock-down \[defender\]. Madison Square Garden, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metta-world-peace/i-wanted-to-play-in-new-york-when-i-was-in-my-prime-and-i-was-young/) [Metta World Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metta-world-peace/) [Browse all 3,441 Garden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Possessions can possess you. Even a lawn can possess you. It makes you buy a garden hose. Which makes you water. 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