Misery is what happiness rests upon. Happiness is what misery lurks beneath.
Interpretation
Happiness and misery are interconnected, with one giving context to the other.
This quote by Laozi highlights the duality of human emotions, suggesting that happiness cannot be fully appreciated without the experience of misery. It implies that the presence of suffering and challenges enriches our understanding of joy, indicating that these two states are inextricably linked and define each other.
In practice
In a speech about overcoming adversity, one could emphasize how difficult times can lead to deeper appreciation for joyful moments.
If you understand others you are smart._x000D_ If you understand yourself you are illuminated._x000D_ If you overcome others you are powerful._x000D_ If you overcome yourself you have strength._x000D_ If you know how to be satisfied you are rich._x000D_ If you can act with vigor, you have a will._x000D_ If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting._x000D_ If you die without loss, you are eternal.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
Darkness as well as light. Or do I mean darkness, another kind of light? Lucifer would say so, and I have a weakness for fallen angels.
To some degree, we're all thinking about the same things. It's the zeitgeist. The trick, in a way, as a writer, is to hope that your interests in some sense link up with the culture around you.
I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.
Lies are infinite in number, and the truth so small and singular.
The believers in miracles accept them (rightly or wrongly) because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers in miracles deny them (rightly or wrongly) because they have a doctrine against them.
I have never smuggled anything in my life. Why, then, do I feel an uneasy sense of guilt on approaching a customs barrier?
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