In the pursuit of stoicism, you often bump against Alan Watts.
Alan Watts was a British writer, speaker, and self-proclaimed “philosophical entertainer”. He was known for popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience.
Here are some excerpts of Alan’s thoughts about not taking life too seriously.
“We build up this enormous structure of seriousness. We have to have the right credentials. We have to have the right job title. We have to have the right kind of car, the right address.”
“It’s a colossal act, a performance. And we are terrified that the audience will see through the cracks, that they will see we are just making it up as we go along. And of course, we are. Everyone is.”
“We think the opposite of seriousness is frivolity, shallowness, a kind of irresponsible laughter. But that’s not it at all. The true opposite of taking life seriously is to see it as play. To see the universe itself as fundamentally playful.”
“Look at nature. Does it look serious to you? Look at a kitten chasing its tail. Look at waves lapping against the shore. Look at the patterns of migrating birds in the sky. Do they look like they are on a grim mission? Do the clouds look like they are filled with existential dread?”
“No, they are simply playing. They are expressing themselves. The universe is at heart a musical phenomenon. It is a dance of energy. And a dance has no destination. It is its own reason for being.”
“The universe is not serious. It is playful. It is joyful… So go on, play, experiment, be foolish, be magnificent, fail gloriously, succeed lightly, love, lose, feel it all.”
“But whatever you do, don’t miss the show by being too busy looking for the meaning behind it. The meaning is in the music. The meaning is in the dance. And you, you are the music. You are the dance.”
The takeaway
Be more playful in your life.