There's Nothing To Do But Watch it - Alan Watts on Depression

where are you [Music] you may feel depressed and what will you do about that well there's nothing to do about it because you would have discovered at this point that the depression when it's there is the you of the time and if you try to get out of it by some sort of distraction you won't really do anything except cover up the dirt with white paint so if you feel let down meaningless somewhat depressed by this whole thing and you see at the same time you can't do anything about it what happens why you're simply watching what's happening you don't know what's going to happen next and it isn't just watching something that is formally identified as a depressed state because a lot of other things going on too there's the world around you there's your breath breathing still your eyes looking still your ears hearing still all that's going on you don't know what to make of it anymore you can't believe anything about it because you know that's all a hoax so there's nothing left for you to do but watch it and you have become inwardly rather quiet just because uh you're worn out there's nothing to do and you realize that all escapes lead back to the thing you were running away from you can take a detour detours detours detours but they always get shorter and you get back to where you started so when this sort of defeat of all enterprises and ideals and aspirations occurs you find yourself naturally and not in an affected or forced way in the contemplative state where you're just watching what goes on and even if you're automatically thinking about it because you realize that those thoughts are futile so far as changing anything is concerned [Music] you might as well try to sweep dust on the stairs with bamboo shadows and so you watch your thoughts as if they were [Music] the ticking of a clock or birds chattering outside the window or water falling and they just chat around and life does its thing and you watch the thoughts because they're just chatter begin to go away and the past has disappeared because you know it's just memory the future has disappeared because it hasn't happened never does you know tomorrow never comes there is no tomorrow and if you don't realize that it's useless for you to make plans for it if you do realize there's no tomorrow then maybe plans will be of use to you because when they work out you can enjoy the result but if you're not all here you can't so tomorrow can only be handled by those who don't take it seriously so there you are now if you've read the literature which many of you have of mysticism and uh [Music] yoga buddhism vedanta so forth you know it said again and again and again that this kind of vision this way of seeing is always dependent upon transcending your ego in one way or another giving up well here you are you've given up only you are not able to pride yourself on having achieved a great achievement and this is the snare for all people who go into these spiritual disciplines they make a project of getting rid of their ego they're terribly proud of it they come home and brag about how much they suffered how long they sat and had their legs hurt so much they're absolute bores and this spiritual braggery is nothing more than blowing up and inflating the ego to a colossal degree because the ego is undertaking uh the actually impossible but seemingly incredibly difficult task of getting rid of itself so when you run into this kind of thing don't be beguiled all those disciplines to get rid of your ego have as their underlying design to persuade you that it can't be done not in a merely theoretical kind of persuasion but so that you actually realize that you can no more get rid of your ego and you can put out fire with fire it is precisely you see the ambition of the ego to be egoless when you find a person who is what you might call frankly egotistic makes no bones about it he will be less egotistic actually than people who are very self-effacing that's a curious thing people for example who speak very frankly and tell the truth and come right out and say whether they like you or whether they don't whether they want you around or whether they don't and uh you say well can i stay overnight and they say sorry but i'm tired and i don't want anybody around you think well is that selfish but that kind of selfishness is not really selfish because with a person like that you always know where you are nobody likes to impose on anyone else and you can't impose on that kind of person that makes for a very comfortable relationship so you owe it to other people to be as egotistic as you are then they know where you stand but if you come out full of love and full of good intentions and make promises to all kinds of people and say oh you'll do this that and the other for them and then you forget about it or you're too lazy or you think you'd rather not they've been relying on you for your promises and then you let them down simply because you weren't selfish when it was time to be selfish so you know if somebody asks you will you help me will you give me some money or something like that if you're not going to do it say no and you shouldn't be ashamed of saying no because if you're going to do no eventually do it now but if you say well i'll think it over i'll go back and look at my bank balance that means no but i don't want to say so and people are always fouling each other up that way so it's very important to be as egotistic as you are because the ambition to be less egotistic than you are is a form a very insidious form of egotism and there is nothing more reprehensible than the ambition to be a saint you

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Id: 1Q_snggTLnQ

Length: 9min 9sec (549 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 16 2022