--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bliss—a-second-by-second joy and…" description: "\"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 attent..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-foster-wallace-161_alive_bliss-a-second-by-second-joy-and-gratitu_1935626.jpg" --- # Bliss—a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of… ![“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…” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-foster-wallace-161_alive_bliss-a-second-by-second-joy-and-gratitu_1935626.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-foster-wallace-161_alive_bliss-a-second-by-second-joy-and-gratitu_1935626.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-foster-wallace-161_alive_bliss-a-second-by-second-joy-and-gratitu_1935626.jpg) > “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.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Joy emerges when we confront and ride through intense boredom, turning tedious moments into vivid, colorful experiences. **In simple terms:** Endure boredom to find deep joy. Key Takeaway Embrace monotony to discover bliss. Themes mindfulness joy transformation Mood contemplative hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - tax filing - long meetings - waiting rooms - repetitive chores Key Concepts flow state gratitude presence Questions to Reflect On - What boring tasks can you transform into moments of gratitude? - How can you shift perception during tedious activities? A Different Perspective Boredom may become overwhelming if not managed mindfully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Bliss Atom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss-atom-3054766/) [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golf/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Instant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant/) [Instant Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant-bliss-3054765/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy and gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-and-gratitude/) [Like you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-you/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Over you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-you/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wave/) [Waves Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waves-boredom-3054767/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) ## Related quotes > [ After that cancellation \[of the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas, after $2 billion had been spent on it\], we physicists learned that we have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/after-that-cancellation-of-the-superconducting-super-collider-in/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute final way. 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J. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-ryan/) > [Thanks are the highest form of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/thanks-are-the-highest-form-of-thought/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I just feel so much joy and gratitude that people have connected to it in this way. The biggest reward that I could ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-knowles/i-just-feel-so-much-joy-and-gratitude-that-people-have-connected-to/) [Solange Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-knowles/) > [“The terrible announcement that the baby had been taken in the act of putting a doll’s frying-pan into his mouth, and was more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-terrible-announcement-that-the-baby-had-been-taken-in-the-act-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what gets you out if bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-arrupe/what-you-are-in-love-with-what-seizes-your-imagination-will-affect/) [Pedro Arrupe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-arrupe/) > [When we tell the story of our own conversion, I would have it done with great sorrow, remembering what we used to be, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-we-tell-the-story-of-our-own-conversion-i-would-have-it-done/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The Prince, charmed with these words, and much more with the manner in which they were spoken, knew not how to show his joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-perrault/the-prince-charmed-with-these-words-and-much-more-with-the-manner-in/) [Charles Perrault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-perrault/) > [If I pull from places of faith, joy and gratitude, then I have the wind of creativity behind me. And, my work in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/if-i-pull-from-places-of-faith-joy-and-gratitude-then-i-have-the-wind/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [I can seldom read scripture now without tears of joy and gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-taylor/i-can-seldom-read-scripture-now-without-tears-of-joy-and-gratitude/) [Hudson Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-taylor/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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. 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