11 October 2007

Words for the day by Alan Watts

I want to spend time sitting still, or walking slowly, wondering at and feeling the basic sense of existence, of watching my breath, of hearing all sounds in the air, and of letting clouds and stars caress my eyes.
I want to let go of anxiety and turn it into laughter, and realize absolutely that life and death are two sides of the same coin.
I want a female companion who will, alternately, melt into me and wrestle with me, obey me and object to me, admire me and then suddenly show that she can do so many things much better than I.
I want to watch water which reflects many changing qualities of light and wind, and is visited by seagulls, pelicans, terns, grebes, and wild duck.
I want to sit on some far-out rock or a lonely beach and listen to the waves and look at the eastern sky at dawn. I want to see mountains and prowl through their foothills and forests, listening, at dusk, to unseen waterfalls.
I want to sit at a typewriter, carefully and meticulously putting into words what I feel— the challenge being that it cannot really be put into words at all.
I want to look up at trees patterning a vivid blue sky. At night, to go to sleep beneath them, and to wake just before dawn when the stars can still be seen through their branches.
I want to hear the bell of Nanzenji, a temple in Kyoto, at four in the morning. I want to go to Sikkim and Nepal to see the Himalayas, but not to climb them.
I want to enjoy the company of certain friends, to eat Stilton cheese, melons, heavy black bread, and prosciutto, and to drink Gardner’s Old Strong, a British ale which is no longer available.
Earthy as it may be, that is my glimpse of heaven.

Earthy as it may be, it is mine as well, and has been for years.
In whatever time I have remaining, I will be striving to be this way. I, too, "want to go to Sikkim and Nepal to see the Himalayas, but not to climb them". Some day... But, in the meantime, I, too, shall "eat Stilton cheese, melons, heavy black bread, and prosciutto", and gladly.
Fortunately, I already have a "female companion who will, alternately, melt into me and wrestle with me, obey me and object to me, admire me and then suddenly show that she can do so many things much better than I". While I have been a difficult companion, I know, I am so very thankful she's stuck with me, regardless...
Mr. Watts was a genius. Read his stuff.

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