--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what…" description: "\"Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose any sentimental associations. Perhaps pawning our valuables frees us in the same way a house ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sue-grafton-1640_association_perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-wha_787421.png" --- # Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose… ![“Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose any sentimental associations. Perhaps pawning our valuables frees us in the same way a house fire destroys not only our worldly goods, but our attachment to what's gone.” quote by Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sue-grafton-1640_association_perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-wha_787421.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sue-grafton-1640_association_perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-wha_787421.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sue-grafton-1640_association_perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-wha_787421.png) > “Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose any sentimental associations. Perhaps pawning our valuables frees us in the same way a house fire destroys not only our worldly goods, but our attachment to what's gone.” [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage suggests that losing possessions can sever emotional ties, similar to how a fire destroys both material goods and the attachments attached to them. **In simple terms:** Loss of belongings can free us from sentimental bonds. Key Takeaway Consider the liberating side of loss. Themes loss attachment materialism freedom Mood thoughtful somber Type literary reflective When to use this quote - personal crises - financial hardship - storytelling Key Concepts psychology of attachment minimalism Questions to Reflect On - How does loss affect identity? - Can loss be truly liberating? A Different Perspective It may romanticize loss without acknowledging grief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Association](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/association/) [Associations Pawning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/associations-pawning-6055110/) [Attachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attachment/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Forfeit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forfeit/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Goods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goods/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Lose Sentimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-sentimental-6055106/) [Pawning Valuables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pawning-valuables-6055108/) [Sentimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimental/) [Sentimental Associations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimental-associations-6055107/) [Valuables Frees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuables-frees-6055109/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Worldly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldly/) ## Related quotes > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [ONLY in the release of the seen do you lay hold on the unseen, My little one. Heaven waits for those who are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-j-roberts/only-in-the-release-of-the-seen-do-you-lay-hold-on-the-unseen-my/) [Frances J Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-j-roberts/) > [The king just sits there, moving one square at a time. The queen can move so freely. I suppose I’d rather lose the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/the-king-just-sits-there-moving-one-square-at-a-time-the-queen-can/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [I would rather not be a king than to forfeit my liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedrus/i-would-rather-not-be-a-king-than-to-forfeit-my-liberty/) [Phaedrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedrus/) > [Personally, I hold that a man, who deliberately and intelligently takes a pledge and then breaks it, forfeits his manhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/personally-i-hold-that-a-man-who-deliberately-and-intelligently-takes/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-once-forfeit-the-confidence-of-your-fellow-citizens-you-can/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Sometimes you have to risk life, in order to live, and gamble death, to sacrifice life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/sometimes-you-have-to-risk-life-in-order-to-live-and-gamble-death-to/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [In order to succeed we need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/in-order-to-succeed-we-need-leaders-of-inspired-idealism-leaders-to/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [With the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the Republican political establishment has done something it is not actually used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/with-the-confirmation-of-judge-brett-kavanaugh-to-the-supreme-court/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [The Society is based on that great bottom law of human right, that nothing but crime can forfeit liberty. That no condition of birth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dwight-weld/the-society-is-based-on-that-great-bottom-law-of-human-right-that/) [Theodore Dwight Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dwight-weld/) > [From the moment we expect gratitude, we forfeit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-panin/from-the-moment-we-expect-gratitude-we-forfeit-it/) [Ivan Panin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-panin/) > [Even when I can play Europe's most precious keyboard, to have to listen to people who don't understand, or do not want to understand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/even-when-i-can-play-europe-s-most-precious-keyboard-to-have-to/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The truly still mind, with which you were born, is the mind that moves freely. Without ignoring anything, it reacts wholeheartedly to everything it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soko-morinaga/the-truly-still-mind-with-which-you-were-born-is-the-mind-that-moves/) [Soko Morinaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soko-morinaga/) > [“If you don’t try, you forfeit the opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/if-you-don-t-try-you-forfeit-the-opportunity/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [You can't fool all of the people all of the time. But it isn't necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/you-can-t-fool-all-of-the-people-all-of-the-time-but-it-isn-t/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## More by Sue Grafton > [“Life is hard. Life hurts. So what? You tough it out. You get through and then you'll feel good again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/life-is-hard-life-hurts-so-what-you-tough-it-out-you-get-through-and/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“nothing wrong with a lie or two when the situation demanded it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/nothing-wrong-with-a-lie-or-two-when-the-situation-demanded-it/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“I can just about promise you Philip Marlowe was never as dainty as I.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/i-can-just-about-promise-you-philip-marlowe-was-never-as-dainty-as-i/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“You can always push people around, but it's not a good idea. Better to let them volunteer information for reasons of their own. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/you-can-always-push-people-around-but-it-s-not-a-good-idea-better-to/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [You can't make anyone love you and you can't stop anyone from dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/you-can-t-make-anyone-love-you-and-you-can-t-stop-anyone-from-dying/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“Some people die accidentally. It's a fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/some-people-die-accidentally-it-s-a-fact/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [Thinking is hard work, which is why you don't see many people doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/thinking-is-hard-work-which-is-why-you-don-t-see-many-people-doing-it/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [Pay enough for anything and it passes for taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/pay-enough-for-anything-and-it-passes-for-taste/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“It’s hard to have faith in your fellow man when you’re forced to look at some of his handiwork.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/it-s-hard-to-have-faith-in-your-fellow-man-when-you-re-forced-to-look/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [Insecure people have a special sensitivity for anything that finally confirms their own low opinion of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/insecure-people-have-a-special-sensitivity-for-anything-that-finally/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“I wondered if I'd ever be nice enough to volunteer for anything. I was hoping not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/i-wondered-if-i-d-ever-be-nice-enough-to-volunteer-for-anything-i-was/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/ideas-are-easy-it-s-the-execution-of-ideas-that-really-separates-the/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“You can't believe everything you hear. Sometimes, you can't even believe your eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/you-can-t-believe-everything-you-hear-sometimes-you-can-t-even/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“It wasn’t about finding the right answer; it was about patience and diligence. I surrendered to the process, ascribing the same importance to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/it-wasn-t-about-finding-the-right-answer-it-was-about-patience-and/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“Life is simple. You're the one making things complex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/life-is-simple-you-re-the-one-making-things-complex/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) [Explore all 217 Sue Grafton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) ## More Association quotes > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For rich children, it'd be very easy and convenient never to take any steps to build an identity outside of your association with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-johnson/for-rich-children-it-d-be-very-easy-and-convenient-never-to-take-any/) [Jamie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-johnson/) > [I am a member of that small, little group that covers - I'm a member of the White House correspondents association. I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-am-a-member-of-that-small-little-group-that-covers-i-m-a-member-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [While opponents label (Howard) Dean a throwback liberal, The New York Times recently noted that as governor, Dean cut income taxes, reformed welfare and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/while-opponents-label-howard-dean-a-throwback-liberal-the-new-york/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The feedback that I get from my association with Gomez is heartwarming. It is very difficult for me to take anything but a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-astin/the-feedback-that-i-get-from-my-association-with-gomez-is/) [John Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-astin/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) [Benedict Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-fitzgerald/) > [ \[T\]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways-to-order-social-affairs/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The Stroke Association has produced leaflets that set out clearly the health risks associated with stroke that African-Caribbean people face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linford-christie/the-stroke-association-has-produced-leaflets-that-set-out-clearly-the/) [Linford Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linford-christie/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Marriage is an association of two persons for the purpose of making one the beneficiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/marriage-is-an-association-of-two-persons-for-the-purpose-of-making/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Browse all 863 Association quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/association/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose any sentimental associations. Perhaps pawning our valuables frees us in the same way a house fire destroys not only our worldly goods, but our attachment to what's gone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sue Grafton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-what-we-own-we-lose-any/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Association" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-what-we-own-we-lose-any/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sue-grafton-1640_association_perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-wha_787421.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sue-grafton-1640_association_perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-wha_787421.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sue-grafton-1640_association_perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-wha_787421.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose any sentimental associations. Perhaps pawning our…” — Sue Grafton", "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": "Sue Grafton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-what-we-own-we-lose-any/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/perhaps-when-we-re-forced-to-forfeit-what-we-own-we-lose-any/#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 } } ] } ```