“…join the dance” – The Philosophy of Alan Watts
“You don’t look out there for God, something in the sky, you look in you.“
I have recently discovered the writings of Alan Watts and, like anyone reading him for the first time, I have been very moved by them. He is a scholar of Zen Buddhism, but has unique way of speaking and writing that demystifies these Eastern philosophies for a Western mind such as my own. Perhaps because he was born in England and spent a good deal of his life in the U.S. I find him easier to relate to. He is less like Mr. Miyagi and more like a familiar and kooky, yet insightful, grandparent. Not to mention, there is an online video series done by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone that animates Watts’ recordings with a playful color.
The comforting thing about his philosophy is that it frees you from having to do the one thing everybody seems to be doing: worrying. We spend countless hours trying to figure out who we are and define our existence. We try to classify, explain, and relate to God. We work our whole lives for a purpose or a reward that may or may not exist. Society, it would seem, has conditioned us to worry about so many things and then raps us on the wrist with a ruler when we question why.
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
Really, I can’t offer much new to the discussion of Watts’ ideas. I’m still just finding them for myself. There are countless books, websites and blogs that have done the job previously and better than I could ever hope to. My only purpose is to share with others who, like me, hadn’t heard of him before.
“Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.”
I urge you to check out more of his work.
More animations: “I” or the Ego
