In 2005, David Foster Wallace, an American author, gave a commencement address to the graduating class of Kenyon College. In the speech, Wallace presents life as one of two options, live consciously or resort to our "default-setting." He begins the speech with a parable about two young fish. As the two fish were swimming alone, they ran into older fish, which remarks, "Morning boys, how's the water?" The young fish keep swimming and then the younger fishes look at each other, and one says, "What the hell is water?" Wallace's parable exemplifies the simplicity of life.  Sometimes, humans get caught up in the "day in, day out" "default-setting" that we forget the choice of living a positive and conscious life.

The human "default-setting" represents the idea that we experience the everlasting feeling of being at the center of the universe. This pattern of basic self-centeredness certainly occurs as an inherent human quality. Wallace remarks, "Think about it; There is no experience you've had that you were not at the absolute center of. The world as you experience it is right there in front of you, or behind you." Wallace's statement may prompt most people to talk about morals or virtues, but Wallace believes that getting out of this "default-setting" is not a matter of virtue; rather, it is a matter of choosing how to live one's life. We can either live in a world of self-centeredness, or in a conscious world free of interpreting everything through the lens of self. 

Wallace defends the importance of a liberal arts degree in his speech. He believes the objective of a liberal arts degree is not about "teaching you how to think;" rather, it is more about "learning how to think," and training the mind to live consciously. Living consciously requires the choice to pay attention to the ever-lasting grind of day in day out. Halfway through the speech, Wallace gives multiple examples of everyday tasks, such as going to the grocery store or driving through traffic. In these examples, he demonstrates how easy it is to revert to selfish thinking. Wallace presents the scenario of being in a busy grocery store. We can choose to pay attention to small aggravating things such as waiting in a long line, listening to loud people on their phones, watching that one mother screaming at her obnoxious child, such an annoyance right? However, if we learn how to think, and how to pay attention, we can decide what contains meaning and what does not; we learn what to pay attention to and what qualifies as irrelevant. At the beginning of the grocery store story, Wallace intimates a depressed tone, yet towards the end of his speech, Wallace's tone becomes more positive as he introduces the idea of how to apply the idea of living consciously, considering the seemingly impossible idea that maybe some humans have greater problems than I do. 

Wallace believes that everyone worships. The power of worship comes in the choice of what to worship. We have the ability to believe in the teachings of the Bible, the Quran, or any other religious teachings, but we can also choose to worship material things, such as money. Worshipping anything other than religious teachings consumes people. In the later part of his speech, Wallace states, "Look, the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful; it is that they are unconscious. They are default settings." The worship of meaningless things derives from fear and contempt, frustration and craving, and the worship of self. The "default-setting" leaves us with the feeling of never having enough. If you worship beauty, you will always feel ugly. If you worship intellect, you will always feel incompetent and fraudulent. Breaking through this cycle of meaningless worship, Wallace encourages, is vital to living a conscious life.

We have built a society that is fueled by the worship of material goods and money. The societal idea that money can buy happiness is the exact nature of the "default-setting." Humans have the tendency to follow the herd; to get sucked into this world of needing more. Wallace talks about the amazing personal freedoms we have in our society, yet the really important kind of freedom involves attention, awareness, and discipline. Moreover, we are the masters of our minds and we have the power to pursue greater things when we consciously make the effort to see things in a new light.

Wallace ends his speech with a reference to the fish parable at the opening of his speech. He says, "The capital-T Truth is about life before death It is about simple awareness--awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, that we have to keep reminding ourselves, over and over: 'This is water, this is water.'" Awareness encompasses everything. If we remain aware of our behavior, the repetitive occurrence of the "default-setting" gives us the ability to choose to make our lives better and more meaningful. Remembering that the simple things in life are often true is the very nature of remembering, "This is water, this is water." Daily life can distract us from the simplicity of things, and we can get caught up in the consumerism and shallowness that envelops our society today, yet there is a way out. Learning to control our minds, the way we think, and the way we perceive things, represent the keys to life. Control over such a powerful thing takes serious effort. It is a constant battle with everyday life and all the distractions it brings. We can let the dull, seemingly menial tasks of driving through traffic or getting groceries drag us down and ruin our days, or we can choose to use our minds in a more intelligent and productive way. By choosing what to pay attention to in life, we can choose how to live.  The choice of a conscious life is not an easy thing; it is a battle of the will, yet, this battle yields great rewards. In such a struggle, we have the ability to fight and come out on top. We can dispel the idea of the "default-setting" and live a conscious life where we are the master's of our own minds.

