Mindfulness
by Alan Watts
Why does security feel so shaky?
Alan Watts wrote this in 1951, calling his time an age of anxiety. People had more comfort than ever and less peace, and as the old religious certainties faded they chased security harder. Watts's uncomfortable answer is that the chasing is what makes us feel insecure.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
Watts saw this pattern everywhere. Try to stay on the surface of the water and you sink. Try to sink and you float. Hold your breath and you soon lose it. In the same way, he says, wanting security and feeling insecure are one state of mind.
Our brains are brilliant at thinking ahead, so we live slightly in front of ourselves, always preparing. Watts argues that plans only mean something to a person who can enjoy the present when the planned day arrives. Otherwise you reach the future you worked for and start looking past it.
Watts draws a sharp line between the two. Belief insists the truth is what you'd like it to be, and clings on. Faith opens your mind to the truth, whatever it turns out to be. He treats them as nearly opposites, and faith is the one that lets go.
Watts argues that pain in this moment is usually bearable. What makes it unbearable is memory and expectation, the weight of how long it has lasted and the dread of how long it will go on. Much of the suffering sits in the time around the pain.
Grasping
The harder we chase security, the more anxious we become.
Tomorrow
If you only live for tomorrow, you miss today, and today is all you ever get.
The water
A swimmer who thrashes goes under. One who lies back finds the water holds them up.
The breath
Try to keep a breath and you soon run out of air. Clinging to life works the same way.
No split
No one stands apart from the fear, watching it. When you're afraid, the fear is all there is.
Hot take · true or myth?
Planning ahead is pointless, so you should live only for today.
Myth. Watts has nothing against planning. But plans only pay off for people who can enjoy the present when the planned-for day finally comes.
One thing to try
Pick one piece of music this week, sit down and give it all your attention. When you catch yourself commenting on it, or planning what's next, come back to the sound.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. The Wisdom of Insecurity comes with a Hot Take round to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhy does security feel so shaky? Alan Watts wrote this in 1951, calling his time an age of anxiety. People had more comfort than ever and less peace, and as the old religious certainties faded they chased security harder. Watts's uncomfortable answer is that the chasing is what makes us feel insecure.
The law of reversed effort; Living for tomorrow; Belief and faith; Pain and time.
Pick one piece of music this week, sit down and give it all your attention. When you catch yourself commenting on it, or planning what's next, come back to the sound.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from The Wisdom of Insecurity in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Hot Take round to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
