--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Owning is owing, having is hoarding." description: "\"Owning is owing, having is hoarding.\" — Ursula K. Le Guin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_hoarding_owning-is-owing-having-is-hoarding-27142_2714214.jpg" --- # Owning is owing, having is hoarding. ![“Owning is owing, having is hoarding.” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_hoarding_owning-is-owing-having-is-hoarding-27142_2714214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_hoarding_owning-is-owing-having-is-hoarding-27142_2714214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/ursula-k-le-guin-138_hoarding_owning-is-owing-having-is-hoarding-27142_2714214.jpg) > “Owning is owing, having is hoarding.” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ownership can become hoarding, suggesting that true possession is about use, not accumulation. **In simple terms:** Having too much can become hoarding. Key Takeaway Focus on using what you have, not just owning. Themes materialism minimalism philosophy economics Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - personal finance - decluttering - shared resources - community living Key Concepts Ethics psychology sociology Questions to Reflect On - What does “owning” mean to you beyond possession? - How can you balance use and accumulation? A Different Perspective Counterpoint: Some ownership is necessary for security and stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Having Hoarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-hoarding-2832314/) [Hoarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoarding/) [Owing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owing/) [Owing Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owing-having-2832316/) [Owning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owning/) [Owning Owing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owning-owing-2832315/) ## Related quotes > [Anyhow they’re always exceptions. But most women, their only relationship to a man is having. Either owning or being owned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/anyhow-they-re-always-exceptions-but-most-women-their-only/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [We are hoarding potentials so great they are just about unimaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-t-schwartz/we-are-hoarding-potentials-so-great-they-are-just-about-unimaginable/) [Jacob T. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-t-schwartz/) > [I don't have the slightest interest in gold. I like understanding what works and what doesn't in human systems. To me that's not optional;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-don-t-have-the-slightest-interest-in-gold-i-like-understanding-what/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I have a hoarding problem because my mom is from a third-world country. And she taught me that you can never throw away anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-wong/i-have-a-hoarding-problem-because-my-mom-is-from-a-third-world/) [Ali Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-wong/) > [We are not cistern made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/we-are-not-cistern-made-for-hoarding-we-are-channels-made-for-sharing/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [It's not about you, it's about the next person. The single best use of a business book is to help someone else. Sharing what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-not-about-you-it-s-about-the-next-person-the-single-best-use-of/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If economic catastrophe does come, will it be a time that draws Christians together to share every resource we have, or will it drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/if-economic-catastrophe-does-come-will-it-be-a-time-that-draws/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [Americans want action for their money. They are fascinated by its self- reproducing qualities if it's put to work. Gold- hoarding goes against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-nelson/americans-want-action-for-their-money-they-are-fascinated-by-its-self/) [Paula Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-nelson/) > [“This flirting is all well and good, but I mean it when I tell you, I cant have you leaving me again. It almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/this-flirting-is-all-well-and-good-but-i-mean-it-when-i-tell-you-i/) [Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/) > [Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/knowledge-is-power-information-is-power-the-secreting-or-hoarding-of/) [Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/) > [Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected… Hoarding is idolatry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/earthly-goods-are-given-to-be-used-not-to-be-collected-hoarding-is/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“I knew then that the fewer items I was acquiring, dusting, packing, moving, and lugging around in life would free up my energy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-breininger/i-knew-then-that-the-fewer-items-i-was-acquiring-dusting-packing/) [Dorothy Breininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-breininger/) > [“Hoarding kings are to be pitied in their lifetime when they can't take their riches to the grave. - Gwallawg is Other ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taliesin/hoarding-kings-are-to-be-pitied-in-their-lifetime-when-they-can-t/) [Taliesin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taliesin/) > [Hoarding knowledge ultimately erodes your power. If you know something important, the way to get power is by sharing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-badaracco/hoarding-knowledge-ultimately-erodes-your-power-if-you-know-something/) [Joseph Badaracco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-badaracco/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More Hoarding quotes > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [Hoarding knowledge ultimately erodes your power. If you know something important, the way to get power is by sharing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-badaracco/hoarding-knowledge-ultimately-erodes-your-power-if-you-know-something/) [Joseph Badaracco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-badaracco/) > [“Hoarding kings are to be pitied in their lifetime when they can't take their riches to the grave. - Gwallawg is Other ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taliesin/hoarding-kings-are-to-be-pitied-in-their-lifetime-when-they-can-t/) [Taliesin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taliesin/) > [“I knew then that the fewer items I was acquiring, dusting, packing, moving, and lugging around in life would free up my energy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-breininger/i-knew-then-that-the-fewer-items-i-was-acquiring-dusting-packing/) [Dorothy Breininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-breininger/) > [Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected… Hoarding is idolatry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/earthly-goods-are-given-to-be-used-not-to-be-collected-hoarding-is/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/knowledge-is-power-information-is-power-the-secreting-or-hoarding-of/) [Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/) > [“This flirting is all well and good, but I mean it when I tell you, I cant have you leaving me again. It almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/this-flirting-is-all-well-and-good-but-i-mean-it-when-i-tell-you-i/) [Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/) > [Americans want action for their money. They are fascinated by its self- reproducing qualities if it's put to work. Gold- hoarding goes against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-nelson/americans-want-action-for-their-money-they-are-fascinated-by-its-self/) [Paula Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-nelson/) > [If economic catastrophe does come, will it be a time that draws Christians together to share every resource we have, or will it drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/if-economic-catastrophe-does-come-will-it-be-a-time-that-draws/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [It's not about you, it's about the next person. The single best use of a business book is to help someone else. Sharing what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-not-about-you-it-s-about-the-next-person-the-single-best-use-of/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [We are not cistern made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/we-are-not-cistern-made-for-hoarding-we-are-channels-made-for-sharing/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I have a hoarding problem because my mom is from a third-world country. And she taught me that you can never throw away anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-wong/i-have-a-hoarding-problem-because-my-mom-is-from-a-third-world/) [Ali Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-wong/) > [I don't have the slightest interest in gold. I like understanding what works and what doesn't in human systems. To me that's not optional;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-don-t-have-the-slightest-interest-in-gold-i-like-understanding-what/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We are hoarding potentials so great they are just about unimaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-t-schwartz/we-are-hoarding-potentials-so-great-they-are-just-about-unimaginable/) [Jacob T. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-t-schwartz/) > [She felt as if she were brimming, always producing and hoarding more love inside her. But there was no release.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/she-felt-as-if-she-were-brimming-always-producing-and-hoarding-more/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) [Browse all 102 Hoarding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoarding/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Owning is owing, having is hoarding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K. 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