Zhuangzi once sighed before a large tree in the mountains that had been spared from being cut down precisely because it was considered useless. He remarked, "It is precisely its uselessness that allows this tree to live out its natural lifespan."
That evening, Zhuangzi's host killed a domesticated goose that could not honk to prepare a feast for Zhuangzi and his disciples. Witnessing this, the disciples asked, "Master, the tree in the mountains survived because of its uselessness, yet this goose lost its life because of its uselessness (inability to honk). What attitude, then, should we adopt towards this unpredictable world?"
Zhuangzi replied, "One should aim for a position between usefulness and uselessness. However, the boundary between them is exceedingly difficult to discern and does not conform to fixed principles of life. Therefore, a person will always be burdened by something."