People Know the Use of the Useful, but Not of the Useless

“People all know the usefulness of the useful, but no one knows the usefulness of the useless.” The line closes the “In the World of Men” chapter of the Zhuangzi. The preceding images say that mountain trees bring cutting upon themselves, grease consumes itself by burning, and cinnamon and lacquer trees are harvested because people can use them. “Useless” here does not mean valueless. It means falling outside an immediate scheme of exploitation, and thereby retaining room to live and grow.

The line need not romanticise uselessness as a refusal of responsibility. Its practical challenge is to notice when learning, rest and relationships are judged only by their immediate output. Time that cannot yet be exchanged for a result may sustain a longer capacity. That judgement still depends on context; avoidance should not be renamed “the usefulness of the useless”.

https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/man-in-the-world-associated-with/zh