Small Fry

by Lisa Brennan-Jobs

“Trees need sunlight, water, nutrients,” she said. “But if they have too many, too abundantly, they also don’t flourish. Some struggle makes them stronger, makes the fruit trees produce better fruit.”

that moment, I felt like we were the center of the world. He carried it with him, this feeling of center.

“Because it’s big enough to cover a small nation, heavy enough to crush it, and expensive enough to feed the population for a year,” I said. It was a joke, but I also wanted to hurt him for what I thought was his extravagant spending on himself, throw him into self-reflection, bring about some revelation. “Small Nation,” he said, chuckling. “That’s really funny, Lis.”

There were hidden places of freedom, and he knew them.

you still desire a thing, its time has not yet come. And when you have what you desired, you will have no more desire, instead you will have time. Weak desires protect you from disappointment. But nothing keeps you safer than being a visible ruin.

“You’ve got to feel all your feelings. That way, next time, when you fall in love again, it will be just as meaningful and profound.”