You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
Bliss - a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious - lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (Tax Returns, Televised Golf) and, in waves, a boredom like you’ve never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and it’s like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Instant bliss in every atom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness often lies in appreciating the mundane aspects of life, overcoming boredom.
In this quote, David Foster Wallace suggests that genuine bliss and gratitude come from being fully present and aware in life, particularly during moments that seem boring or tedious. He encourages us to confront and endure the discomfort of boredom, as it can lead to a profound appreciation of life’s simple joys, allowing us to experience existence in vibrant color rather than monotone.
Themes
HappinessBoredomGratitudeAwarenessJoy
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about finding joy in everyday life, one could reference this quote to illustrate the power of perspective.
More from David Foster Wallace
All quotes →Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence.
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It seems important to find ways of reminding ourselves that most 'familiarity' is meditated and delusive.
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Under fun's new administration, writing fiction becomes a way to go deep inside yourself and illuminate precisely the stuff you don't want to see or let anyone else see, and this stuff usually turns out (paradoxically) to be precisely the stuff all writers and readers share and respond to, feel.
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Acceptance is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else.
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The great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them so we can see the flaws and hypocrisies and duplicates.
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