A home is a kingdom of it's own in the midst of the world, a stronghold amid life's storms and stresses, a refuge, even a sanctuary.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
The way to misuse our possessions is to use them as an insurance against the morrow. Anxiety is always directed to the morrow, whereas goods are in the strictest sense meant to be used only for to-day.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of living in the moment rather than hoarding resources for the future out of anxiety.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's quote reflects a philosophical outlook on the nature of possessions and the tendency of individuals to focus on future uncertainties. He suggests that using possessions only as a safety net against future worries leads to a misuse of their purpose, which is to be enjoyed in the present. By highlighting that anxiety is often about what lies ahead, Bonhoeffer encourages a more mindful and present-focused approach to life, promoting the idea that true fulfillment comes from utilizing what we have today rather than worrying about tomorrow.
Themes
PossessionsAnxietyPresentFutureMindfulness
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about living freely, you could quote this to inspire others to focus on the present.
More from Dietrich Bonhoeffer
All quotes →In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.
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Sometimes we just need a firm kick in the pants. An unsmiling expectation that if we mean all these wonderful things we talk about and sing about, then let’s see something to prove it.
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It is God's earth out of which man is taken. From it he has his body. His body belongs to his essential being. Man's body is not his prison, his shell his exterior, but man himself. Man does not "have" a body; he does not "have" a soul; rather he "is" body and soul. Man in the beginning is really his body. He is one. He is his body, as Christ is completely his body, as the Church is the body of Christ
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
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