This is water
Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in THIS IS WATER. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend.Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading.
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- If your university were free would you think about it differently? I ask because some argue time is money so it's still not free however one of the great things about the study of humanities is to fill your life with meaning which changes what time is too. If you've not read or heard this commencement address from David Foster Wallace highly recommended https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/
- David Foster Wallace's This is Water speech more relevant than ever.
- Top 5 books I've offered (and still offer):
1. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (translated by Gia-Fu Feng)
2. The Analects by Confucius (translated by Annping Chin)
3. This Is Water by David Foster Wallace
4. 3 years of Mini Stories - 36 short stories to read quickly, and think slowly — written by me.
5. As Causas do Atraso Português by Nuno Palma
- Exactly! Whenever I feel offended by someone, I remind myself of David Foster Wallace's message in "This is Water." It's become a positive reflex for me, one that safes me from a rush of aggression as we all know it. However, I still find myself cursing fiercely in my car from time to time, it's just a stronger reflex, it releases some energy and I know I'm hurting nobody anyway
- "This is Water" by David Foster Wallace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw
- > choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life
Everybody works, even those who are deeply fulfilled in their paths. Every job has aspects that cause petty frustration. There is no such thing as “not working”.
Work, like everything else in life, has highs and lows that you will experience no matter what path you choose. What really matters is whether or not the path you’re on gives you what you need to take care of yourself financially and energetically.
“This is Water” by David Foster Wallace is an exceptional speech on this topic[0]
