The Philosophic Perspective

The principle of the thing matters more than the individual outcomes — and this includes also one’s own individual outcomes. 

There is no reality that, having finally revealed itself, cannot be accepted, and to which one cannot adjust oneself. This adaptability is not to be mistaken for a lack of concern with affecting the details of that reality to the extent one may do so. It only means a willingness, at the end of the day, to live (and die) in the world as it ultimately presents itself to one’s rational awareness, even when it has not responded positively to one’s prior wishes or efforts. 

In all matters of practical benefit and physical comfort, it is a good practice to opt for less than one might have had, and the best practice of all to do so habitually, instinctively, without any feeling of “denying oneself.” One thereby trains the soul to look past the present and personal while remaining focused on distant and cosmic aims — or rather reveals a soul so trained.

If you think there are a hundred thousand people today whose lives you may influence for the better, you are merely painting your ego with a hundred thousand faces. In the process, you are surely neglecting the five people whose lives you may truly influence for the better.

Life will bring no satisfaction, and this fact, which would dishearten most men to the point of giving up hope, is precisely what makes one’s life worth living. Everything is about the desire for completion — specifically, to emphasize, the desire for it.