“Don’t Hurt Yourself,” which has been consistently loved for over 20 years since its first publication in 2002, has been republished in a cover edition.
In these times, when comfort and hope are needed more than ever, I hope that through "Don't Hurt Yourself," more people will discover the strength within themselves and enjoy true freedom that no one can take away.

“No one hurts anyone but themselves.”

Father Anselm Grün offers profound wisdom drawn from Scripture and the Church Fathers on how we should treat ourselves.

The fundamental goal pursued on the path of spirituality is human healing and liberation.
A Christian is a free human being, not influenced by external suffering or the world, but determined solely by God.
A person who is formed by God, who is born of God, is truly free.
This is the fundamental message of the Bible.
And it is also the fundamental experience of the early Christians.
I would like to tell you a little more about this experience of inner freedom.

--- p.13

God resides in the deepest part of human beings.
And it is precisely where God dwells within man that man encounters his true self.
--- p.25

Since we have God within us, our entire desire should be directed toward unity with God within us.
That agreement is in nature.
A life according to one's nature is a life suited to human beings.

--- p.29

Jesus' distinction between humans and problems is also because he possesses freedom.
Jesus resists the stubbornness of the Pharisees, but accepts them as human beings.
This is expressed in the emotion called sadness.
The Greek word 'sorrow' (syllypoumenos) means 'to sympathize' or 'to pity'.
Jesus does not break his connection with those who oppose him, but has compassion for them.
Jesus is saddened that they are ruled by their stubborn hearts and are no longer free and no longer themselves.
The initiative Jesus demonstrates here is inner freedom.
Jesus does not give others the authority to govern Himself.
He does not even give it to those who want to kill him (see Mark 3:6).

--- p.40

A person who builds his inner house on the rock of Christ cannot be shaken by any wound.

--- p.54

Often we try not to hurt others, and we try not to hurt others.
So you hurt yourself.

--- p.64-65

Becoming invulnerable through our experience of God does not mean we are armored to keep anything from coming near us.
The point is not numbness, but the experience of love.
Love allows us to be completely hurt.
But this hurt has nothing to do with self-harm.

--- p.117

Whether we like it or not, life always hurts us over and over again.
Pain is inherently a part of our lives.
…Now the question is, how do we deal with the suffering inflicted on us from outside?
The question is whether we will deepen our suffering by hurting ourselves, or whether we will carefully bind the wounds that life has inflicted on us and prepare ourselves to heal the wounds of others.

--- p.185

Chrysostom does not belittle the suffering we experience in life.
All he wants is for us to deal with our pain constructively, transforming our wounds into a source of healing.
Only when we make peace with our wounds and keep in mind that they will follow us throughout our lives can we begin to deal with them creatively.
When we accept our wounds, they no longer hold us back.

--- p.187