We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time — inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires to thr… - Alain de Botton

We envy only those whom we feel ourselves to be like; we envy only members of our reference group. There are few successes more unendurable than those of our close friends.

Wealth is not an absolute. It is relative to desire. Every time we yearn for something we cannot afford, we grow poorer, whatever our resources. And every time we feel satisfied with what we have, we can be counted as rich, however little we may actually possess.

There may be no good reason for things to be the way they are.