Alphabetarion # Water | David Foster Wallace
Two Koi Fishes Swimming Towards Happiness
“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish
swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?”
And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at
the other and goes “What the hell is water?”
David Foster Wallace, This is Water: Some Thoughts,
Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
.
Koi, are colored varieties of Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus). The koi fish has a powerful
and energetic life force, demonstrated by its ability to swim against currents. The two yin
and yang koi complete each other and create a perfect balance of the negative and positive.
and energetic life force, demonstrated by its ability to swim against currents. The two yin
and yang koi complete each other and create a perfect balance of the negative and positive.
Charles-Émile Reynaud, praxinoscope, 1890
