The Wisdom of Insecurity

Product Information

We have no assurance of a happy future, and if we make plans for a happy future, then we are making plans against reality, essentially. Thus, happiness and meaning are realized in the present moment, not in the recollection of memories or aspirations for future successes. We’ve pawned the responsibility of security to a higher being through innumerable oblations: crops and virgins and tobacco and dances. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

If we don’t feel secure, that is because we haven’t enough faith in the process of discovering our own innate greatness. Live in the present, because the present is essentially all there is; the past and future are mental memories that we evoke in the present. I don't think it would do the book justice to summarize but I will do my best to give you an idea of whether or not you should read this book. The constant overthinking that our brain does cheats us of other experiences that our body and our subconscious has to offer. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.Quoting extensively, he often creatively interprets scripture or sages to suggest they had his particular view of things. A person’s full potential to lead a holistic life is defined by all these experiences and not only one. For Watts, wisdom rests in the understanding that security is impossible, that there is no individual self, and that everything is impermanent.

One gets the sense that Watts has wrestled with his own demons and developed a depth of self-awareness that would scare many of us. Because the author’s a bit old-fashioned, as I said, and he offers you at one point only a passe Fifties’ Fad, Vedanta, as a possible solution. There's some good work here on the layers that our minds add to the true reality, and some good metaphors to explain why those should not be important to us. That is, our evolutionary psychological design which was undermining our happiness earlier, is now undermining our attempts to rid the problems of happiness.To the extent that we can say ideas are technologies, this gives the impression that these “spiritual” technologies for living a vastly improved life have been widely available but very rarely employed. The more we try to live in the world of words, the more we feel isolated and alone, the more all the joy and liveliness of things is exchanged for mere certainty and security. I almost feel like it's a book to read on a regular basis, just to give the mind a good scramble every now and then.