David Foster Wallace begins his speech with a metaphor, as all self-proclaimed intellects do. He describes humans as being self-centered and unintentionally ignoring the rest of the world. “It is about simple awareness,” Wallace explains on the last page. We, as humans, are inherently selfish “fish” that ignore the “water” surrounding us. We’ve become so accustomed to our own boring, repetitive lives that the problems of everyone else fades away. The self-awareness we strive to achieve, however, is much simpler to reach than the narrator makes it out to be.
Our boring, repetitive lives that Wallace details cannot be broken down so easily into those two terms. Life is only as boring as you make it. Children have an optimistic view towards life; their curious, wide eyes never stop searching for answers, and their imagination knows no boundaries. So, what is it about adults that causes them to lose this childlike wonder? Instead of looking at the double shift and groaning, why not focus on the bountiful check that will surely come with all that hard work?
Rather than exploding with road rage on a traffic-filled highway during a busy Monday afternoon, why not put some good music on and focus on the lyrics until you reach your destination? Adults fixate on all the miniscule, negative aspects of their life that they forget to see the brighter side of things. You may be bogged down with tasks for that day but think of the warm cozy bed waiting for you at home. Imagine that fresh, homecooked meal you can’t wait to dig into, or the fast food that you’re so grateful you didn’t have to make yourself.
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“The grass is greener on the other side” doesn’t only apply to what great things reside in other people’s yards; it’s a yin and yang situation. The dried out, cracked yard you’re standing in has a hose at the end of it. You only need to learn when it’s time to water the yard. In other words, you need to find the more positive side of life if you only search for it. Humans are selfish because they are wrapped up with their own problems, as Wallace determines, but he forgets to mention that the self-awareness we desire to reach is as easy as focusing on the positives that come after the negatives. The rainbow after the storm, as they say. Without it, we are utterly reduced to mindless robots going about our miserable lives.
