Alan Watts: The Middle Way

There's Another Way

Alan Watts, speaking about the Self:

"If you discover a blind alley, it tells you something. Watch the flow of water when it crosses over an area of land, and you will see that it puts out fingers, and some of them stop, because they come into blind alleys.  The water doesn't pursue that course.  It simply rises, and then it finds a way it can go, but it never uses any effort. It only uses weight, gravity. It takes the line of least resistance, and eventually finds a course.

Now we do the same thing, only we’re ashamed of it, but we’re going to do it anyway. We think that when we come to a dead end, a blind alley, 'Oh, I’ve failed!'  Supposing the water, at each place where a finger of water stretches out over dry ground, and doesn't go any further because the land is too high, if the water were to say too itself, 'I’ve failed!'

We would say it was neurotic water.  Just wait, and it will find a way. When we feel like there is no way, this is not a gloomy announcement, or something to feel ashamed or guilty about, it's like the land is trying to tell the water, 'This is not the way to go, there's another way, try over here.'

And so in the same way, life is telling you 'That's not the way to go, there's another way, try over here.'"


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Original Animation: "Drawing Inspiration," Tim McCourt and Wesley Louis
http://www.youtube.com/user/messytimbo

Original Music: Michael Fesser (Relaxdaily)
http://www.youtube.com/user/relaxdaily