In modern society, traditional practices and expectations originating from family and society are losing their significance. Inspired by Heidegger's statement that "all practical traditions have been completely dissolved," we find ourselves facing an infinite sky of possibilities. However, I believe that living a life like the Baron in Calvino's "Baron in the Trees" is better than prematurely spreading our wings.

As individuals with passionate souls, we naturally possess a desire for transcendence. We disdain the constraints of old-fashioned values and are drawn to the allure of elsewhere. However, we must be cautious when our expectations become mere criticisms of past ideas, leading us towards nihilism and Dadaism without thoughtful consideration. Deviating from order and structure has never been a justification for reckless behavior. Even if we have a solid blueprint, we cannot assume that we have anchored ourselves at the pinnacle of the wave.

"My life story is always embedded in the stories of the communities from which I derive my identity," says McIntyre, hitting the nail on the head. Our social nature is inherent and we are constantly propelled by external forces. Society and family are, for now, perceived as thin symbolic objects because we lack the experiences and knowledge to support our own cognition. However, this biased arrogance is even more detrimental than intellectual arrogance.

On the path of seeking meaning in life, our expectations are shaped dynamically through interaction with family and society. Our raw material lies in the perception and understanding of different lifestyles and roles. Cosimo, living in the trees, delivers books as a thief, develops water systems, and maintains his love life. His philosophy of life is solid and practical. If, after rejecting the past with Weber's "disenchantment," we subject ourselves to an ever-expanding self-centeredness, we may lose not only external expectations but also our own identity.

There is no doubt that the self seen from the perspective of family and society contains narrow and outdated elements. However, what we should discard is not the criticism itself, but rather the cheapness of the criticism and the anti-intellectual tendencies it entails. According to Nietzsche's ideas, if we skip the process of shouldering the legacy of our ancestors like a camel before becoming a lion and a child, the concept of "eternal recurrence" cannot be established. Moreover, when the miner poet Chen Nianxi obediently follows the editor's wishes and chooses to write urban novels that cater to readers, reducing his sixteen years in the underground to mere plot materials, we have no right to condemn it as vulgar.

The gap between blueprints is ultimately just a conceptual distinction, and the division in the field of practice may not be clear-cut. For example, when we pursue our heart's desires and encounter positions of power along the way, is it the extinction or fulfillment of expectations? While we shape our lives, our lives also shape us. We cannot deny our inherent familial and social nature, while acknowledging that our own perspective may be lightly distorted. Let experience precede words. Use an unencumbered mind to appreciate the sea and sails of Czesław Miłosz, and follow Wittgenstein's advice to remain silent about the unspeakable.

Living a life like the Baron in the Trees embodies the individual's transcendence, maintaining integrity while not being bound by the so-called "worldly independence" unidimensional image. This is the ideal expectation paradigm that Calvino offers us. Live in the trees, always love the earth, and ascend to the sky


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