Useful or useless

Of use or of no use One day, while reading Zhuangzi , I came across a passage discussing the idea of "uselessness." It tells the story of an old tree that carpenters reject because its wood is twisted and poor in quality—unsuitable for making furniture. Yet, because of that, it escapes being chopped down and gets to live for a hundred years. This made me think: usefulness and uselessness are relative concepts. Something is only "useful" depending on to whom or for what purpose . In modern society, our lifestyles often pressure us to constantly be useful. Work is heavy, our attention is scattered, and the world seems to demand our productivity without pause. If we're not "useful enough," we fear becoming obsolete. But isn't that an overly narrow and anxiety-ridden way of living? Many things—people included—may appear "useless" from one angle but incredibly valua...