--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That everything is on fire, slow fire…" description: "\"That everything is on fire, slow fire, and we're all less than a million breaths away from an oblivion more total than we can even bring ourselves to e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/david-foster-wallace-161_breaths_that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and_2843749.jpg" --- # That everything is on fire, slow fire, and we're all less… ![“That everything is on fire, slow fire, and we're all less than a million breaths away from an oblivion more total than we can even bring ourselves to even try to imagine...” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/david-foster-wallace-161_breaths_that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and_2843749.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/david-foster-wallace-161_breaths_that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and_2843749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/david-foster-wallace-161_breaths_that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and_2843749.jpg) > “That everything is on fire, slow fire, and we're all less than a million breaths away from an oblivion more total than we can even bring ourselves to even try to imagine...” [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. Life feels like a slow burn toward an inevitable end, emphasizing the fleeting nature of existence and the difficulty of confronting it. **In simple terms:** We are all moving toward an inevitable end. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence and live fully. Themes mortality existentialism impermanence Mood melancholic thoughtful Type existential literary When to use this quote - daily routines - long‑term planning - health decisions - creative projects Key Concepts Absurdism nihilism Questions to Reflect On - What does the notion of “slow fire” change about your priorities? - How can you balance awareness of mortality with joy? A Different Perspective May induce anxiety without offering solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Breaths Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths-away-3462082/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Million Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-breaths-3742513/) [Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion/) [Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow/) [Slow Million](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-million-3742515/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [Just breathe. Sometimes you're only a few breaths away from feeling better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/just-breathe-sometimes-you-re-only-a-few-breaths-away-from-feeling/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breaths away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/life-is-not-measured-by-the-breaths-you-take-but-by-the-moments-that/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“But and so things are slow, and like you they have this irritating suspicion that any real satisfaction is still way, way off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-and-so-things-are-slow-and-like-you-they-have-this-irritating/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She can't catch on to slumber, the relief of oblivion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-gemmell/she-can-t-catch-on-to-slumber-the-relief-of-oblivion/) [Nikki Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-gemmell/) > [Then there are the addicts, the hunger addicts, the rage addicts, the poverty addicts , and power addicts, and the pure addicts who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-thayil/then-there-are-the-addicts-the-hunger-addicts-the-rage-addicts-the/) [Jeet Thayil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-thayil/) > [“Oblivion and significance/brush our bones, leave us weeping for strangers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-adamshick/oblivion-and-significance-brush-our-bones-leave-us-weeping-for/) [Carl Adamshick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-adamshick/) > [Gabriel pulled her over his body to lie on the bed beside him. 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Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [“What matters is at the end of life, when you're about to pass into oblivion, that you've at least scratched 'Kilroy was here,' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-matters-is-at-the-end-of-life-when-you-re-about-to-pass-into/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I just tried to put myself in her place and figure out what would be the scariest thing. If I thought I might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-gaffney/i-just-tried-to-put-myself-in-her-place-and-figure-out-what-would-be/) [Patricia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-gaffney/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) ## 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. 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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 Breaths quotes > [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. 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Follow Coleman Hawkins' improvised lines very carefully. He is using them to tell us something. Pay very close attention. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-to-this-nimit-follow-coleman-hawkins-improvised-lines-very/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Every body resisted (the slaughterer) in its own fashion, tried to escape and seemed to argue with the Creator to its last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/every-body-resisted-the-slaughterer-in-its-own-fashion-tried-to/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [We had a dog, Apples. He was 13 years old, toothless, blind and had the worst breath this side of Jabba the Hut. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) [Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That everything is on fire, slow fire, and we're all less than a million breaths away from an oblivion more total than we can even bring ourselves to even try to imagine...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and-we-re-all-less-than-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breaths" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and-we-re-all-less-than-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/david-foster-wallace-161_breaths_that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and_2843749.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/david-foster-wallace-161_breaths_that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and_2843749.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/david-foster-wallace-161_breaths_that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and_2843749.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That everything is on fire, slow fire, and we're all less than a million breaths away from an oblivion more…” — David Foster Wallace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That everything is on fire, slow...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and-we-re-all-less-than-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-everything-is-on-fire-slow-fire-and-we-re-all-less-than-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```