the avoidance of pain. That’s what it is to be human—the beauty and the pain, each meaningless without the other.

Life with a cheat code isn’t life. Our existence isn’t something to be engineered or optimized for

“I was thinking of that trip we took to Lake Tear of the Clouds. Remember?” “Of course. It took us two hours to get the tent up in a rainstorm.” “I thought it was clear.” She shakes her head. “No, we shivered in the tent all night and none of us slept.” “You sure about that?” “Yes. That trip was the foundation of my never-again wilderness policy.”