Once, back then in my twenties, all I wanted to do was to throw my life away. But then, somehow, usually by accident, you experience joy. And the problem with joy is that it binds you to life; it makes you greedy for more happiness. You experience avarice. You hope your life will go on forever.
That’s from Charles Baxter’s short story “The Cousins.” It’s in The Best American Short Stories 2010 – a recommended collection.
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