The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.
Alain de BottonThose who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.
Alain de BottonThere is psychological pleasure in this takeoff, too, for the swiftness of the planeโs ascent is an exemplary symbol of transformation. The display of power can inspire us to imagine analogous, decisive shifts in our own lives, to imagine that we, too, might one day surge above much that now looms over us.โ P. 38-39
Alain de BottonAt the beginning of human history, as we struggled to light fires and to chisel fallen trees into rudimentary canoes, who could have predicted that long after we had managed to send men to the moon and areoplanes to Australasia, we would still have such trouble knowing how to tolerate ourselves, forgive our loved ones, and apologise for our tantrums?
Alain de Botton