Classics can help shape proper perspectives today

In a chapter called "In the World of Men" from the Zhuangzi — the Daoist text attributed to the thinker of the same name, who lived more than 2,200 years ago — there is a story about a carpenter called Shih who comes across a massive oak tree at a village shrine. The tree is so large that thousands can rest under its shade, yet the carpenter ignores it. When his apprentice asks why, Shih explains: "That tree is useless. A boat made from it would sink, a coffin would soon rot, a tool