Another Quote

This one is by David Lipsky, who is coming out with a book on an early road trip he took with the late author David Foster Wallace, called: Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace. I've already ordered an advanced copy on Amazon.com.

"I’ve kept thinking of something David says near the end of the trip. “There are all kinds of reasons for why we’re so afraid. But the fact of the matter is, that the job that we’re here to do is to learn how to live in a way that we’re not terrified all the time. And not in a position of using all kinds of different things, and using people to keep that kind of terror at bay. That is my personal opinion.” For me, that’s the line I think of, as the difference between “I love you” and “You are loved.” It’s giving something without wanting anything back. It’s the warmest thing in the list of lessons learned by the residents at Ennet house."

[Note: Ennet House is a substance abuse facility that features in Foster Wallace's epic novel Infinite Jest.]