Book Club Friday's (#2) - The Wisdom of Insecurity, Alan Watts

I'm first going to outline a little about Alan Watts for those who aren't familiar with his work, and then I will go on to give my interpretations from parts of the book and what lessons I think it gives us for living in this hectic world.

Alan Watts was a British philosopher who spent most of his life living in the United States in New York and San Francisco. He is most celebrated for his views on life and how we are all connected to this central force which binds us all endlessly together. Born just outside London in the countryside in 1915 he was very interested in philosophy from a very young age. This was aided by his Father who often took him to a Buddhist Lodge in London which planted the seed in his mind about the questioning of life and being 'Zen'. He went on to teach his extensive knowledge from research throughout his life in the United States. By teaching lectures and writing numerous books which are celebrated even to this day. Afer a successful life teaching others on the concept of 'Zen', he passed away in his sleep in 1973.

A teeny tiny summary of the book.

This book, although only 133-pages long and in essence, it guides us to the realisation that life is about simply, living. Don't overthink things too much, take each day as it comes and just tries to better yourself each day you possibly can. Watts portrays that we spend far too long worrying about the unanswerable questions, leading to our anxiety and invariably meaning that we simply forget to simply, live. The book is split into 9 chapters and each deal with the subject of being CONTENT. I understand that this can be a daunting prospect for many people, and it just isn't easy to grasp. Being content can apply to your appearance, your current living situation or your relationships.

The book claims that you have to be at one with your insecurity because to stand face to face with insecurity is still not to understand it. To understand it, you must not face it but be it. We all feel it, but instead of fighting it, accept it and just be at one with it. In essence what this allows you to do is to maintain control, and to love the life you live regardless of your situation.

We need to be present in our situations. Alan Watts describes this in a different way to your standard philosopher or meditative guru. He simply implies that we must take the "I" out of the situation and to be in complete flow with our actions. For example, when listening to music, to think: "I'm thinking about this music" is involving "I" in the current situation and means you will not get the best experience from the situation. We have to simply listen intuitively to the music to be truly present.

My personal use of the book

I think about work far too much. I like to think big in the future, and this is great to an extent. But it is all too easy to get lost in thoughts of the future rather than living for the moment. As Watts states: "The future is an abstraction." He means that it is meaningless and the only thing that should matter is the present moment because that's the only thing we can truly feel and govern.

However, I would argue that Watts' view is quite extreme. I do personally feel that it is important to be present in the way that Watts describes, however, I do not feel like it is imperative. He almost is suggesting (in my opinion) that we should live in a subconscious state of flow throughout our lives, but I really think it is important to think and ponder on our actions, our goals and where we see ourselves in a few years time. But don't spend too long doing this because it would defeat the purpose... A good balance between the two is ideal.

The wisdom of Insecurity is a book that requires a lot of your attention and for good reason. You really must take your time with it because it is full of great knowledge and advice from one of the most prolific thinkers of the 20th century.

I have one question for you before I sign this blog post off

'At this moment, who are you?'

Adam x