I came to the conclusion that the optimist thought everything good except the pessimist, and that the pessimist thought everything bad, except himself.
There is today-in a time when old beliefs are withering-a kind of philosophical hunger, a need to know who we are and how we got here. It is an on-going search, often unconscious, for a cosmic perspective for humanity
Because obstacles will always present themselves, the hardest obstacle of all is developing a way of living, a way of practicing your approach to life that allows you to keep a healthy perspective on things.
The honest ratepayer and his healthy family have no doubt often mocked at the dome-like forehead of the philosopher, and laughed over the strange perspective of the landscape that lies beneath him. If they really knew who he was, they would tremble. For Chuang Tsǔ spent his life in preaching the great creed of Inaction, and in pointing out the uselessness of all things.
Balance in large measure is knowing the things that can be changed, putting them in proper perspective, and recognizing the things that will not change."