The desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the quest for security is nothing but a breath-retention contest in which everyone is as taut as a drum and as purple as a beet. --Alan Watts

An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety

An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety

Sep 19, 2023-- In his 1951 book, "The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety," Alan Watts writes, "There is a contradiction in wanting to be perfectly secure in a universe whose very nature is momentariness and fluidity. But the contradiction lies a little deeper than the mere conflict between the desire for security and the fact of change. If I want to be secure, that is, protected from the flux of life, I am wanting to be separate from life. Yet it is this very sense of separateness which makes me feel insecure. To be secure means to isolate and fortify the 'I,' but it is just the feeling of being an isolated 'I' which makes me feel lonely and afraid. In other words, the more security I can get, the more I shall want.." More in this post by Maria Popova. (3394 reads)


Read Full Story
What's your reaction? inspiring fascinating courageous hopeful
Take ActionIf inspired to, you can "The Wisdom of Insecurity," here. [more]



Quote Bulletin


The giving of love is an education in itself.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Search by keyword: Happiness, Wisdom, Work, Science, Technology, Meditation, Joy, Love, Success, Education, Relationships, Life
Contribute To      
Upcoming Stories      

Subscribe to DailyGood

We've sent daily emails for over 16 years, without any ads. Join a community of 155,029 by entering your email below.

  • Email:
Subscribe Unsubscribe?


Trending DailyGoods Sep 30: Life After Death (5,081 reads) Aug 27: Eight Steps Towards Forgiveness (34,212 reads) Aug 23: 11 Interventions in the 10 Days of Your Dying (2,723 reads) Sep 4: Conspiracy of Goodness (2,031 reads) Sep 3: The River of Silence (1,979 reads)

More ...