Alan Watts: Audio on this subject
We have a whole system of preparation of the child for life. Which always is preparation and never actually gets there. In other words we have a system of schooling which starts with grades and we get this little creature into the thing with a kind of come on kitty kitty kitty. And we get it always preparing for something that’s going to happen [but never does]. - Alan-Watts
Come along about the 45 years of age maybe you are a vice president and you suddenly Dawns on you that you’ve arrived with a certain sense of having been cheated because life feels the same as it always felt and you are conditioned to be in desperate need of a future. - Alan-Watts
The final goal that this culture prepares for us is called retirement when you will be a senior citizen and you will have the wealth and the Leisure to do what you always wanted but you will at the same time have impotence and uh false teeth and no energy so the whole thing from beginning to end is a hoax - Alan-Watts
Recondition Yourself
A rock is thrown in the air
A rock thrown in the air. It loses nothing by coming down, gained nothing by going up. - Marcus-Aurelius
Just as the rock remains unchanged by its brief moment in the air, our core being isn’t altered by short-term rises or falls in life. Momentary successes or failures need not define us; rather, we can maintain an inner balance, recognizing that gains and losses are external events that come and go. The rock doesn’t cling to the idea of “flying high” nor does it lament “falling down”. It simply is.
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