There is a beautiful person; once seen, one cannot forget. A single day without seeing them brings madness of longing. As the phoenix soars through the skies, seeking its mate across the four seas. Alas, the beloved is not behind the eastern wall. I shall use my zither to express my heartfelt emotions. When will you grant me your consent and soothe my wandering thoughts? I wish to marry someone of virtue and walk hand in hand. If I cannot fly together with them, I shall perish in sorrow. —— Sima Xiangru, "Feng Qiu Huang · Qin Ge"
The sun will not cease to rise tomorrow because of your disappointment, nor will the moon cease to set tonight because of your complaints. Covering your own eyes does not mean the world turns dark; covering the eyes of others does not mean the light belongs to you. There is no wood that cannot be split by a sharp axe, only people who lack the will to work. If you are determined, there will always be a way; if you are unwilling, there will always be an excuse.
If you learn to cherish what you have, you will find that you gain more; if you pursue things greedily, you will find that you lose them faster.
The concealment of history leads directly to the deterioration of the social ecosystem, just as the evasion of responsibility leads to the widespread diffusion of indifference.
Many things are beautiful because they are distant, and many things are distant because they are beautiful. It is not because they are distant that we give up, but because we give up that they become distant.
Sometimes, happiness is merely a choice. If you treat happiness as the most important pursuit in life and make it the motivation for everything you do, you will be happier and enjoy the process of reaching your goals more deeply. Do not waste time agonizing over whether you are happy; instead, carefully consider what things actually bring you happiness. Once you make that decision, start acting immediately to do things that make you feel joyful. It may feel difficult at first, but once happiness becomes a habit, it will come to you naturally.
