@theschooloflife: Pascal's observation was that a tree is never wretched, because a tree has no idea what it might be missing. It cannot fall short of anything, since it never had an ambition to fall short of. We are different. We compare ourselves to who we might have been, to people who seem calmer or braver or more loved, and we feel that gap constantly. The gap is painful, and Pascal's point is that it is also the source of everything dignified about us. Only a creature capable of imagining something better than its current state can be called capable of greatness at all. Self-criticism is not the opposite of the good news here. Little is quite so hopeful as a mind that knows, in real detail, exactly how it falls short. One note on sourcing: this is a genuine line from Pascal's Pensées, but fragment numbering varies quite a bit between editions and translations. Worth having whoever owns the graphic confirm the exact translation and citation you're using before it goes to print, so it stays traceable if anyone asks. Follow us for more useful ideas, every day.

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2026-09-24 17:37:36

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