Alan Watts

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

Join the dance.

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

One of the things I realized is that if you do not take control over your time and your life, other people will gobble it up. If you don’t prioritize yourself, you constantly start falling lower and lower on your list, your kids fall lower and lower on your list.

Anything is better than lies and deceit!

When you make changes in your life, make sure you’re moving toward the things you want.

I don’t substitute anybody else’s judgment for my own.

In the dime stores and bus stations, people talk of situations, read books, repeat quotations, draw conclusions on the wall.

Life is not a success-only journey. You are going to get beat up along the way. And you’ve got to have the strength of character to get up and get back in the game.

Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.

A man must live like a great brilliant flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is far better than a mean little flame.

Thinking calls for facts; facts are found by digging; but he who has gathered this wealth is well equipped for life.

A human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs.

I never hurt nobody but myself and that’s nobody’s business but my own.

Do not fear your enemies. The worst they can do is kill you. Do not fear friends. At worst, they may betray you. Fear those who do not care; they neither kill nor betray, but betrayal and murder exists because of their silent consent.

Hard knocks have a place and value, but hard thinking goes farther in less time.

All this is only for the mice and myself to admire!